Samson Pascal François (18 May 192422 October 1970) was a French pianist and composer.
Biography
François was born in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
where his father worked at the French consulate. His mother, Rose, named him
Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
, for strength, and Pascal, for mind. François discovered the piano early – at the age of two – and his first studies were in Italy, with
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
, who encouraged him to give his first concert at the age of six.
He studied in the
Conservatoire
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAlfred Cortot, who encouraged him to move to Paris and study with
. He also studied piano with Cortot (who reportedly found him almost impossible to teach), and harmony with
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...
. In 1938, he moved to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Marguerite Long, the doyenne of French teachers of the age. He won the piano section of the inaugural (1943) Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition.
He was particularly admired for his performances of Chopin,
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
,
Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
, and
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 ...
. In 2012 his Debussy recordings were awarded the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik". His entire studio discography was reissued on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
in 2020 by
Warner Classics
Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records and Teldec Records labels. Based in France, Warner Cla ...
.
François was a keen
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
fanparticularly of the pianist
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...
,
* who lived and performed in Parisand claimed that jazz influenced his playing. He composed, among other works, "Magies Noires" for solo piano, a
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
for piano and orchestra, and incidental music for film.
He married Josette Bahvsar, and their son Maximilien was born in 1955. Maximilien, who published a biography of his father in 2002 (see bibliography below), died in New Mexico on October 11, 2013.
Samson François's extravagant lifestyle, good looks, and passionate but highly disciplined playing, gave him a cult status as a pianist. He had a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on the concert stage in 1968. His early death followed only two years later.
François himself said "never play simply to play well" and, in a remark clearly inspired by his jazz influences, "It must be that there is never the impression of being obliged to play the next note."