Dutilleux, Henri
Dutilleux, Henri,
1916–2013, French composer, b. Angers; studied (1933–38) Paris Conservatory, received (1938) the Grand Prix de RomePrix de Rome, Grand, prize awarded annually by the French government, through competitive examination, to students of the fine arts. It entitles them to four years' study at the Académie de France à Rome.
..... Click the link for more information. . After serving in World War II, he was a pianist, teacher, arranger, choir conductor, and head (1945–63) of music production at France's state radio as well as a composer. Later (1961–70) he taught at the at the École Normale de Musique; subsequently he devoted himself solely to composing. Dutilleux's earliest works employed conventional tonality, which he slowly transformed into his own version of modernism, an extremely individualistic style that also is in the tradition of RavelRavel, Maurice
, 1875–1937, French composer, b. in the Pyrenees. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889, where he was later a student of Fauré. Ravel became a leading exponent of impressionism.
..... Click the link for more information. and DebussyDebussy, Claude Achille
, 1862–1918, French composer, exponent of musical impressionism. He studied for 11 years at the Paris Conservatory, receiving its Grand Prix de Rome in 1884 for his cantata L'Enfant Prodigue.
..... Click the link for more information. . He composed very slowly, working in a number of genres and using extremely rich and sensuous harmonies and colors. Among his best-known works are the Piano Sonata (1946–48), Symphony No. 1 (1951), Symphony No. 2, "Le Double" (1959), works for several voices, the string quartet Ainsi la Nuit (1976), the violin concerto L'Arbre des Songes (1979–85, written for Isaac SternStern, Isaac,
1920–2001, American violinist, b. Kremenets, in what is now Ukraine. Brought to the United States as an infant, Stern began piano lessons at the age of six and violin lessons at eight.
..... Click the link for more information. ), the cello sonata Les Citations (1985–2010, written for Mstislav RostropovichRostropovich, Mstislav
, 1927–2007, Russian cellist, pianist, and conductor. He made his cello debut in 1940 and his conducting debut in 1968, toured with the Moscow Philharmonic, and taught at the Moscow Conservatory until his friendship with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and
..... Click the link for more information. ), and Le Temps l'Horloge for orchestra and soprano (2006–9, written for Renée FlemingFleming, Renée,
1959–, American soprano, b. Indiana, Pa. She studied at the State Univ. of New York, Potsdam (grad. 1981), Eastman School of Music, and Juilliard's American Opera Center (1983–87).
..... Click the link for more information. ).