Raoul Pugno (Dupont portrait 2, BPL Hale Coll)

Stéphane Raoul Pugno (23 June 1852) was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing 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 ...

's works.

Biography

Raoul Pugno was born 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 ...

and was of Italian origin. He made his debut at the age of six, and with the help of Prince Poniatowski he was then able to study at the École Niedermeyer. He then went to the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

at age 14, where he shone. He won First Prize in Piano in 1866 (his teacher being

Georges Mathias Georges Amédée Saint-Clair Mathias (; 14 October 182614 October 1910) was a French composer, pianist and teacher. Alongside his teaching work, Georges Mathias was a very active concert pianist. Biography Mathias was born in Paris. He studied a ...

, a pupil of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

), First Prize in Harmony and First Medal for solfège in 1867 (his composition teacher being

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

), and First Prize in Organ in 1869 (his teacher was

François Benoist François Benoist (10 September 1794 – 6 May 1878) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Benoist was born in Nantes. He took his first music lessons under Georges Scheuermann. Benoist studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris and ...

). He was appointed Director of Music at the Opéra by the Paris Commune of March–May 1871. At the grand re-opening of the Opéra, two of his works were performed. RaoulPugno

He was organist at the Church of Saint-Eugène, 1872–92, chorus master at the Théâtre Ventador in 1874, and Professor of Harmony at the Conservatoire 1892–96 and Professor of Piano 1896–1901. He remained a pedagogue until 1893, when he was over 40. One of his notable pupils was Léo-Pol Morin. He then decided to resume his career as a concert pianist, commencing with the Piano Concerto in A minor by

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

. At a small-scale performance of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...

'' in 1893, Pugno and

Claude 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 ...

provided an accompaniment on two pianos. He had a brilliant career, travelling throughout Europe and to the United States, where American composer

Marion Bauer Marion Eugénie Bauer (15 August 1882 – 9 August 1955) was an American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping American musical identity in the early half of the twentieth century. As a composer, ...

acted as guide and translator for Pugno and his family. His specialty was the solo piano works and piano concertos of

Wolfgang Amadeus 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. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Pugno was also a fine interpreter of the piano works of Chopin and

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

. He was also renowned for his appearances with the violinist

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

, with whom he worked from 1896, giving performances of works by

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 ...

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, and

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...

. The duo also gave the premiere performances of violin sonatas by

Albéric Magnard Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard (; 9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, sometimes referred to as a "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers. Magnard became a national hero in ...

and

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

. He also appeared with the violinist

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

. He spent his summers at his home in Gargenville where he taught and entertained, often playing concertos and works for two pianos with Saint-Saëns and the young

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. He died in 1914 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, while on a concert tour of Russia. His compositions are no longer in the repertoire, but his legacy lives on through his students.

Selected works

*''La Resurrection de Lazare'', oratorio (1879) *''La Fée Cocotte'', féerie *''Les Papillons'', ballet (London, 1881) *''Ninetta'', opéra-comique (1882) *''Le Sosie'', opéra-bouffe (1887) *''Le Valet de coeur'', opéra-comique (1888) *''Le Retour d'Ulysse'', opera (1889) *''La Vocation de Marius'', opera (1890) *''La Petite Poucette'', opera (1891) *''Melusine'', opera *''La Danseuse de corde'', pantomime (1892) *''Pour le drapeau'', mimodrame (1895) *''Le Chevalier aux fleurs'', Ballet (1897, with

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

) *''La ville morte'' ( Gabriele d'Annunzio), opera, with

*songs *piano pieces

Recordings

Pugno was the first internationally renowned pianist to make recordings. In 1903 he recorded pieces by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the deve ...

and Chopin and one of his own compositions, an ''Impromptu Valse''. In a Chopin waltz, Pugno displays his famous ''jeu de perle'' technique. His other Chopin recordings include the Impromptu in A flat, Op. 29, ''Berceuse'', Op. 57, Waltz in A flat, Op. 34 No. 1, and the ''Marche funèbre'' from the Sonata in B flat minor. Pugno's most important recording however, is that of Chopin's Nocturne in F sharp, Op. 15, No. 2, in which he plays the piece noticeably slower than the norm, a practice bequeathed to him by his teacher Georges Mathias, himself a student of Chopin. His most extended recording is that of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11. It is impetuous and exciting, and has Pugno pushing himself to the extremes of his abilities without any loss of control. *''Legendary Piano Recordings: The Complete Grieg, Saint-Saëns, Pugno, and Diémer''
Marston Records
* (the sound is distorted because the record was cut on a defective turntable with fluctuating speed).

Sources

* Grove V (1961)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugno, Raoul People from Montrouge 1852 births 1914 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers French ballet composers French male classical composers French people of Italian descent 19th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French male classical pianists Pupils of Georges Mathias Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society French opera composers Male opera composers 19th-century French composers French choral conductors French male conductors (music) 20th-century French composers 20th-century French conductors (music)