Jean-Michel Nectoux (born 20 November 1946) is a French

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

, particularly noted as an expert on the life and music 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 ...

. He has published many books on Fauré and other French composers, and has been responsible for major exhibitions in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Life and career

Nectoux was born in

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its popu ...

, a suburb of Paris. From 1964 to 1968 he studied law at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, and at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, from 1968 to 1970, he studied

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

with Yves Gérard and musical aesthetics with

Vladimir Jankélévitch Vladimir Jankélévitch (; 31 August 1903 – 6 June 1985) was a French philosopher and musicologist. Biography Jankélévitch was the son of Russian Jewish parents, who had emigrated to France. In 1922 he started studying philosophy at the Éco ...

.Gribenski, Jean
"Nectoux, Jean-Michel"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 14 January 2015 His doctoral thesis was on

and the theatre."Jean-Michel Nectoux"
''L'encyclopédie Larousse'', retrieved 14 January 2105 After completing a course in librarianship at the Ecole nationale supérieure des Bibliothèques (1969–70), he was appointed chief librarian of the Bibliothéque municipale de Versailles (1970–72), and went on to head the music department of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

(1972–85), where he oversaw major exhibitions about

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, Fauré, the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, and

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

.Millot, Jean-Baptiste
"Jean-Michel Nectoux"
Les tetes des art, 30 July 2012 Nectoux joined the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

on its establishment in 1985, as chief curator of musical activities, concerts and interdisciplinary exhibitions, remaining there until 1997. He was then appointed deputy music director of

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

, where he organised a series of concerts in 2000 presenting the complete works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

. He was appointed "conseiller scientifique" of the new Institut national d'histoire de l'art. In 2009, he joined l’Institut de recherches sur le patrimoine musical en France. Alongside his official appointments, Nectoux was secretary of the Répertoire international de littérature musicale (RILM) from 1972 to 1985, and assistant editor of the ''Revue de musicologie'' (1979–82). In 1980 he founded the musicological series Harmoniques, which included the publication of the complete correspondence of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. Nectoux's specialist areas of research focus on French music, literature and the arts in the years from 1850 to 1925; his studies have included

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, Mallarmé, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, the Ballets Russes and Stravinsky. The ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' rates Nectoux as "the foremost authority on Fauré".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nectoux, Jean-Michel Living people 1946 births People from Seine-Saint-Denis French academics 20th-century French musicologists University of Paris alumni Fauré scholars