Ernest Chausson

Ernest Chausson Amédée ( born January 20, 1855 in Paris, † June 10, 1899 in Limay, Yvelines ) was a French composer.

Life

Chausson was born into a wealthy family and enjoyed an excellent, very versatile training. Were early on in his interests in painting, literature and music aroused. In all three areas Chausson was creatively active. However, he came first to his parents' wishes to study law. In 1877 he finished his studies from his promotion and has been for some time lawyer. Soon, however, his interest in music continued through. Therefore, he began in 1879, first private lessons, then hours in the composition class at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Massenet to take. In 1881 he left the Conservatoire not finish because he was very upset about the decisions of the jury of the Prix de Rome, the most prestigious composition prize of the Paris Conservatoire. By 1883 he took lessons with César Franck yet. Then Chausson worked as a freelance composer, but also appeared temporarily as a pianist.

His Paris Salon was one of the most important meeting places for the artistic elite of the French capital - famous musicians, writers and painters came here together. From 1886 he was secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique. Chausson traveled several times to Germany, among others, to the Bayreuth Festival to collect musical impressions. At the age of only 44 years, Chausson died in a tragic bicycle accident. The motivated by Wagner's Tristan und Isolde opera Le Roi Arthus was posthumously premiered in 1903 at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.

Style

Chausson developed quite early a very unique style of composition. Essentially, influences two composers can be identified: that of his teacher César Franck and Richard Wagner. While Franck mainly passed on the formal design and processing of the compositional material and the slope to large compositional technical perfection of his students to Chausson oriented, especially in the harmonies clear to Wagner. His music has a rather melancholy mood and a preference for widely elaborated melodies. In almost all larger works Chausson used cyclic principles in order to emphasize the unity of the work. Here, he takes on both the use of a cyclic theme back as well as on the technique to quote from the previous sets in the final. It has often been pointed out that some of his works already refer to the music of Impressionism. Today, the " Poème " for violin and orchestra is probably his best-known composition. Without doubt Chausson among the most important French composers.

Works

  • Symphonic poems Viviane Opus 5 (1882 )
  • Solitude dans les Bois, Op 10 (1886 )
  • Poème, Op 25 ( 1892-96 )
  • Soir de Fête, Op 32 (1893 )
  • Symphony No. 1 in B flat major op 20 ( 1889-90 )
  • Symphony No. 2 unfinished (1899 )
  • Les Caprices de Marianne, Lyrical comedy Op 4 ( 1882-84 )
  • Hélène, Drame lyrique op 7 ( 1883-86 )
  • Le Roi Arthus, Drame lyrique op 23 ( 1885-96 )
  • La Légende de Sainte Cécile, op 22 (1891 )
  • Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet in D major op 21 ( 1889-91 )
  • String Quartet in C minor op 35 ( 1897-99, completed by Vincent d' Indy )
  • Piano Quartet in A major, Op 30 (1897 )
  • Piano Trio in G minor, Op 3 (1881 )
  • Pièce for cello and piano in C major, Op 39 (1897 )
  • Andante et Allegro for clarinet and piano (1881 )
  • Some piano pieces
  • Chant Nuptial op 15
  • Ballata / Canzoniere di Dante, Op 29
  • Jeanne d' Arc (1880 )
  • Hylas ( 1879-80 )
  • Poème de l' amour et de la mer for voice and orchestra op 19 ( 1882-90, rev. 1893)
  • Songs Sept mélodies op 2
  • Quatre mélodies op 8
  • Quatre mélodies op 13
  • La Caravan op 14
  • Chansons de Miarka op 17
  • Poème de l' amour et de la mer Op.19
  • Serres Chaudes op 24
  • Trois Songs op 27
  • Chansons de Shakespeare, Op 28
  • Pour un Arbre de Noël op 33
  • 2 Poèmes de Verlaine, Op 34
  • Deux mélodies op 36
  • Chanson perpétuelle op 37
  • Lilas (1877 )
  • Mélodies Deux (1878 )
  • Le Petit Sentier (1878 )
  • L' Albatros (1879 )
  • O Salutaris (1879 )
  • Le Rideau de Ma Voisine (1879 )
  • Esméralda (1880 )
  • Nous Nous Aimerons (1882 )
  • Le Mort Maudit (1884 )
  • Le Jugement de Pâris
Limay (Yvelines) Salon (gathering) Vocal music Integrated Authority File
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