Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray () (24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

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 ...

. He was the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1963.

Early life and education

Paul Paray was born in

Le Tréport Le Tréport () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy, France. Geography A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D 940, the D 78 and t ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, on 10 October 1886. His father, Auguste, a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, organist at St. Jacques church, and leader of an amateur musical society, put young Paray in the society's

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

as a drummer. Later, Paray went to Rouen to study

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

with the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

s Bourgeois and Bourdon, and organ with Haelling, which prepared him to enter the Paris Conservatoire.

Career

In 1911, Paray won the Premier 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 ...

for his cantata ''Yanitza''. Deprived of paper while a prisoner of war during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Paray composed his string quartet in E minor, and the piano suite ''D'une âme...'', both in his head, only writing them down from memory after the war. Once the war was over, Paray was invited to conduct the orchestra of the Casino de

Cauterets Cauterets (; in Occitan ''Cautarés'', in Catalan ''Cautarés'', in Aragonese ''Cautarès'') is a spa town, a ski resort and a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the region of Occitanie in south-western France. Geography Caute ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, which included players from the

Lamoureux Orchestra The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...

. Casino de

was a springboard for him to conduct orchestras in Paris. Paray would later serve as music director of the

Monte Carlo Orchestra The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (french: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle ...

. In 1922, Paray composed music for the

Ida Rubinstein Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (russian: И́да Льво́вна Рубинште́йн; – 20 September 1960) was a Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure. She performed with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1909 to 1911 a ...

ballet ''Artémis troublée''. That year he and the Spanish violinist

Manuel Quiroga Manuel López-Quiroga Miquel (January 30, 1899 – December 13, 1988), better known as Maestro Quiroga, was a Spanish composer especially known for his '' coplas'', ''cuplés'', and ''zarzuelas''. He was also a pianist and one of the group of ...

premiered his Violin Sonata. In 1931, he wrote the ''Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc'', which was premiered at the cathedral in Rouen to commemorate the quincentenary of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

death. Paray became president of the

Concerts Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...

, and in 1935, he wrote his Symphony No. 1 in C major, which premiered there. Paray made his American debut with the

New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in 1939. He composed his Symphony No. 2 in A major in 1941. In 1952, Paray was appointed music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, going on to conduct them in numerous recordings for the

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

' "Living Presence" series. Paray left Detroit in 1963. Paray returned to France and maintained a healthy international guest-conducting career. He was in his tenth decade when he made his last conducting appearance in the United States, leading the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. A report in ''Musical America'' noted: "Now ninety-two, Paray brings to the podium not only a reputation as one of the great conductors of our time, but strength, energy, and a solid technique that have not diminished through the years."

Awards and recognition

He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity.Delta Omicron
The government of France awarded him its highest honor, the

Grand-Croix de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

, in 1975.

Personal life

Paray heeded the call to arms and joined the French Army in World War I. In 1914, he was taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

and held in Darmstadt camp. Paray married Yolande Falck in Cassis, France, on 25 August 1942. He died in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1979, aged 93.

Selected works

;Stage * ''Yanitza'', Scène lyrique d'après une légende albanaise (1911); poem by * ''Artémis troublée'', ballet by

, costumes by Léon Bakst (1911–1912) ;Orchestral * ''Symphonie d'archets'' for string orchestra (1919); orchestration of the string quartet * ''Nocturne'' for chamber orchestra * Symphony No. 1 in C major (1934) * Symphony No. 2 in A major (1936) ;Concertante * ''Fantaisie'' for piano and orchestra (1909) * ''Humoresque'' for violin and chamber orchestra (1910) ;Chamber music * Piano Trio (1905) * ''Sérénade'' for violin (or flute) and piano (1908) * Sonata in C minor for violin and piano (1908) * ''Humoresque'' for violin and piano (or chamber orchestra) (1910) * ''Nocturne'' for violin (or cello) and piano (1910) * String Quartet in E minor (1919) * Sonata No. 1 in B major for cello and piano (1919) * Sonata No. 2 in C major for cello and piano ;Piano * ''Tarantelle'' * ''Scherzetto'' * ''Impromptu'' * ''Vertige'' * ''Incertitude'' * ''Entêtement'' * ''Berceuse'' * ''Valse-caprice'' (1906) * ''Romance'' (1909) * ''Portraits d'enfants'' (1910) * ''Valse sur un thème de Franz Schubert'' (1911) * ''Impressions'' (1912) :# Nostalgie :# Eclaircie :# Primesaut * ''Reflets romantiques'' (1912) :# Avec esprit et charme :# Ardemment :# En rêvant :# Avec fougue :# Souple :# Léger :# Tender :# Energique * Sept pièces (1913) * ''Presto'' (1913) * ''Prélude, scherzo et allegro'' * Thème et variations (1913) * Prélude in F major (1913) * ''Allegro'' (1913) * ''Scherzo'' (1913) * ''D'une âme...'' (1914) * Pieces for piano 4-hands (1914) * ''Éclaircie'' (1923) * ''Prélude'' (1930) * ''Allegretto'' * ''Prélude en mi bémol mineur'' * ''Prélude en fa mineur'' * ''Sur la mer'' * ''Valse en fa dièse mineur'' * ''Valse en fa mineur'' * ''Vertige'' * ''La vraie furlana'' ;Vocal * ''Nuit d'Italie'' for voice and piano; words by

Paul Bourget Paul Charles Joseph Bourget (; 2 September 185225 December 1935) was a French poet, novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Life Paul Bourget was born in Amiens in the Somme ''département'' of P ...

* ''Laurette'' for voice and piano; words by

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never r ...

* ''Sépulcre'' for voice and piano; words by Leon Volade * ''Paroles à la lune'' for voice and piano (1903); words by

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan) (15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian and Greek descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. Biography Personal life Born Princess ...

* ''Panis Angelicus'' for voice and cello (1904) * ''Dans les bois'' for voice and piano (1904); words by

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

* ''La Promesse'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1910); words by Gabriel Montoya * ''La Plainte'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1911); words by Lucien Paté * ''Le Papillon'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1911); words by

Jean Aicard Jean François Victor Aicard (4 February 1848 – 13 May 1921) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist. Biography He was born in Toulon. His father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and the son began his career in 1867 wit ...

* ''Le Champ de bataille'' (1912); words by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

* ''Trois Mélodies'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1912); words by

:# Infidélité :# La Dernière feuille :# Serment * ''Villanelle'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1912); words by

* ''Chanson violette'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1913); words by

Albert Samain Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. Life and works Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fat ...

* ''Le Chevrier'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1913); words by

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna ...

* ''Il est d'étranges soirs'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1913) words by

* ''Viole'' for voice and piano (1913); words by Albert Samain * ''In manus tuas'' for voice, oboe and organ (1914) * ''Quatre poèmes de

Jean Lahor Henri Cazalis (; 9 March 1840, Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d'Oise – 1 July 1909, Geneva) was a French physician who was a symbolist poet and man of letters and wrote under the pseudonyms of Jean Caselli and Jean Lahor. His works include: *''Cha ...

'' for voice and piano or orchestra (1921) :# Après l'orage :# Adieux :# Après le bal :# Dèsir de mort * ''Vocalise-étude'' for medium voice and piano (1924) * ''Le Poèt et la muse'' for voice and piano; words by E. Thévenet * ''L'Embarquement pour l'idéal'' for voice and piano; words by Catulle Mendès * ''Mortes les fleurs'' for voice and piano; words by P. May * ''Chanson napolitaine'' for voice and piano; words by P. May ;Choral * ''Os Justi'', Offertorium for chorus and organ (1903) * ''Acis et Galatée'', Cantata (1910) * ''Jeanne d'Arc'', Oratorio (1913); words by Gabriel Montoya * ''Salve Regina'' for chorus a cappella (1929) * ''Messe du cinquième centenaire de la mort de Jeanne d'Arc'' (Mass for the Fifth Centenary of the Death of Joan of Arc) for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1931) * ''Nuit tombante'' for chorus and orchestra * ''Pastorale de Noël'' pour for soloists, chorus and orchestra * ''Soleils de septembre'' for chorus and orchestra

Notes

References

External links

"A Frenchman in Detroit"Cercle Paul Paray
* A principled man from Le Treport - bio, insight and photos here http://www.normandythenandnow.com/a-principled-man-from-le-treport/