Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux
(13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) was a French conductor.
Life and career
Frémaux was born in
Aire-sur-la-Lys
Aire-sur-la-Lys (; ; literally "Aire on the Lys (river), Lys") is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France.
Geography
The commune is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of ...
, France and came from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music teacher.
[Harding, J. "Louis Frémaux a man for all music". ''Performance'', Summer, 1981.]
He studied music at the conservatoire in
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, but his studies were interrupted by the Second World War, when he joined the
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
; at the end of the war he was commissioned in the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
and was posted to Vietnam in 1945-46.
He entered the
Paris Conservatoire in 1947, studied under
Louis Fourestier and
Jacques Chailley
Jacques Chailley (24 March 1910 – 21 January 1999) was a French musicologist and composer. Alain Lompech, "Jacques Chailley, musicologue-praticien et infatigable chercheur", ''Consociatio internationalis musicæ sacræ, Musicæ sacræ ministeriu ...
, and graduated in 1952 with a first prize in conducting.
Frémaux worked with the orchestra of the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
, after having been released from the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
(to which he had been recalled for service in Algeria) at the request of
Prince Rainier. For ten years he helped build the reputation of the Monte Carlo orchestra, as well as conducting opera premieres there. He was the first music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Rhône-Alpes (later the
Orchestre National de Lyon
The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is a French orchestra based in Lyon. Its primary concert venue is the Maurice Ravel Auditorium. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture (France), French Ministry of Cult ...
), from 1969 to 1971.
In the UK, Frémaux was principal conductor of the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) from 1969 to 1978. During his CBSO tenure, he formed the CBSO Chorus, with the baritone Gordon Clinton as its chorus master. In 1978 he was awarded an honorary DMus from Birmingham University; he also became a member of the Royal Academy of Music.
However, his CBSO tenure ended in controversy after the relationship between Frémaux and the orchestra players had broken down.
Frémaux served as chief conductor of the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...
from 1979 to 1982. He died in March 2017 at the age of 95.
He was made a
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
in 1969.
Discography
In 1963, he recorded a world premiere,
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...
’s, ''Dialogus inter angelos et pastores Judae in nativitatem Domini'' H.420, and ''In nativitatem Domini canticum'' H.314, with
Marie-Claire Alain
Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the worl ...
, organ, Ensemble Vocal Stéphane Caillat and the Orchestre
Jean-François Paillard.
By the early 1980s Frémaux had recorded over fifty works, winning a special citation from the Koussevitsky Jury for the 'Nottuni ed Alba' and Second Symphony of
John McCabe. Other recordings include Berlioz (
Grande Messe des Morts,
Symphonie Fantastique
' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...
), Bizet (
Symphony in C, Roma), Delalande (Psalms 12 and 144), Fauré (Requiem), Ibert (Bacchanale, Bostoniana, Louisville Concerto, Divertissement), Poulenc (
Gloria, Piano Concerto), Saint-Saëns (Symphony No 3, works for cello and orchestra) and Walton (Gloria, Te Deum,
Façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
,
The Wise Virgins).
He also conducted the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
in the
Symphonie Fantastique
' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...
(1988) and a Ravel programme of ''
Daphnis et Chloé'' Suite No. 2,
La Valse, the complete ballet
Ma Mère l'Oye
''Ma mère l'Oye'' (English: ''Mother Goose'', literally "''My Mother the Goose''") is a suite by French composer Maurice Ravel. The piece was originally written as a five-movement piano duet in 1910. In 1911, Ravel orchestrated the work.
Pian ...
and
Boléro
''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music.
Composition
T ...
(1989).
Louis Frémaux may be seen as conductor in two piano concertos with
Samson François (
Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand, Paris, 1964, and
Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...
, Paris, 1967), on EMI Classics DVD 490437.
References
External links
*
Louis Frémaux Biographyat the
Bach Cantatas Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fremaux, Louis
1921 births
2017 deaths
French conductors (music)
French male conductors (music)
French Resistance members
Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music
Officers of the French Foreign Legion
People from Aire-sur-la-Lys
Musicians from Hauts-de-France
French expatriates in the United Kingdom
Chief conductors of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Principal conductors of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Music directors of the Orchestre National de Lyon
Principal conductors of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra