Jean-Michel Damase (27 January 1928 – 21 April 2013) was a French

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

Career

Damase was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, the son of harpist Micheline Kahn. He was studying with

Marcel Samuel-Rousseau Marcel Auguste Louis Samuel-Rousseau (né Rousseau; 18 August 1882 – 11 June 1955) was a French composer, organist, and opera director. Biography Born in Paris, he was the son of Samuel Rousseau and later changed his surname to Samuel-Rousseau ...

at the age of five and composing by age nine.Greene, ''op. cit.'' He was admitted to the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

in 1940, studying with

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

for piano, and won first prize for piano in 1943, afterwards studying with

Henri Büsser Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor. Biography Büsser was born in Toulouse of partly German ancestry. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1889, where he studied ...

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

and

Claude Delvincourt Claude Étienne Edmond Marie Pierre Delvincourt (12 January 1888 – 5 April 1954) was a French pianist and composer of classical music. Biography Delvincourt was born in Paris, the son of Pierre Delvincourt and Marguerite Fourès. He studie ...

for composition – winning his first prize for composition in 1947, in which year he won the

Grand Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

(In this year he wrote his trio for flute, viola and harp which has been recorded several times.) He made the first complete recording of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

's nocturnes and barcarolles, for which he received the ''Grand Prix du Disque''.

Selected compositions

;Orchestral *Symphony (1952)Lasser, *Serenade for strings (1959) ;Orchestrations *''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' (1985) (of Peter Hertel's 1864 ballet score) ;Concertante *Concerto for harpsichord or harp and small orchestra (1984) *Concerto for viola, harp and string orchestra (1990) ;Chamber music *Trio for flute, cello and harp (1947)Lasser, *Trio for flute, viola and harp (1947) *Quintet for flute, harp and string trio, op. 2 (1948) *''Aria'' for cello (or viola, or alto saxophone) and piano, op. 7 (1949) *''17 variations'' for wind quintet, op. 22 (1951) *''Sonate en concert'' for flute, piano and cello (ad libitum), op. 17 (1952) *''Trio'' for flute, oboe and piano (1961) *String Trio (1965) *Sonata for clarinet and harp (1984) *Vacances for alto saxophone and piano (1990) * ''Intermède'' for viola and piano (1990) * ''Épigraphe'' for viola and piano (1991) * ''Ostinato'' for viola and piano (1991) * ''Prélude, élégie et final'' for bass trombone (or tuba) and piano (1993) *Trio for oboe, horn, and piano (1993) *Trio for two flutes and piano (1997) *Sonata for cello and harp (2002) *''Hallucinations'' for viola and harp *''Berceuse'' for horn and piano *''Pavane variée'' for horn and piano ;Operas *''La tendre Eleonore'' (1958) *''Colombe'' (premiered 1961 Bordeaux, lyrics

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...

with Maria Murano) *''Eugène le mystérieux'' (1963) *''Le matin de Faust'' (1965) *''Madame de ...'' (1969) *''Euridice'' (premiered 1972 Bordeaux) *''L'héritière'' (1974) ;Film scores *''

Term of Trial ''Term of Trial'' is a 1962 British drama film written and directed by Peter Glenville and produced by James Woolf for his Romulus Films company, with James H. Ware as associate producer. Its screenplay was based on the 1961 novel of the same ...

'' (1962)Lasser,

References

Sources

*Greene, David Mason (1985). . Reproducing Piano Roll Fnd. page 1512. . * 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French composers 20th-century French conductors (music) 21st-century classical composers 21st-century French composers 21st-century French male musicians Academics of the École Normale de Musique de Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni French ballet composers French male classical composers French male conductors (music) French opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Bordeaux Prix de Rome for composition Composers for harp {{France-composer-stub