Lazare Lévy

Lazare Lévy ( born January 18, 1882 in Brussels, † September 20, 1964 in Paris) was a French pianist, music teacher and composer.

Lévy studied piano with Louis Diémer at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he graduated in 1898 with a first prize. He also studied harmony with Albert Lavignac and counterpoint with André Gedalge. Among his fellow students and musical partners included in this time Alfredo Casella, Alfred Cortot, George Enescu, Pierre Monteux, Maurice Ravel and Jacques Thibaud.

In 1902 he made ​​his debut at the Concerts Colonne, under its founder Édouard Colonne Schumann's Piano Concerto. Lévy played in the aftermath several premieres of works by contemporary composers such as Paul Dukas, Darius Milhaud, and especially Camille Saint -Saëns, whose piano works (especially the fifth piano concerto ) he made ​​known throughout Europe. In 1911, he played the first volume of Isaac Albéniz's Iberia. With senior colleagues such as Harold Bauer, Ignaz Paderewski and Francis Plante joined the young pianist friendly relations.

1907 Lévy was co-author of a piano school, which was published by Diémer. For a long time he taught at the Conservatoire: first from 1914 to 1916 and from 1921 to 1923 as a temporary teacher, then as Cortot successor from 1923 to 1941 and again from 1944 to 1953 His pupils included musicians such as the pianist Monique Haas, Clara Haskil. Alexandre Uninsky and Madeleine de Valmalete, the organist Marcel Dupré and the composer John Cage, Lukas Foss and Oskar Morawetz.

As a concert pianist Lévy has performed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. He was the first French pianist to the works of Scriabin, and was one of the first pianists who seriously grappled in the 20th century with the piano works of Schubert. He has performed under conductors we Désiré Inghelbrecht, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Paul Paray, Felix Weingartner and was friends with Edwin Fischer, André Marchal, Sergei Rachmaninoff, the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and André Malraux.

During the German occupation of France Lévy lived underground, his son Philippe, who was active in the Resistance, came in German captivity and died in Auschwitz.

Lévy composed a number of works for piano, for organ and chamber music ensembles as well as an opera. He played a few recordings, including sonatas by Mozart. Also a humorous performance of Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture on the piano using a shoe brush was never recorded.

Works

  • Berceuse for piano
  • Ecossaises for Piano
  • Enfantines for Piano
  • Brèves Etudes for Piano
  • Habanera for Piano
  • Sonatine for Flute and Piano
  • Sans Octaves for Piano
  • 20 Preludes for Piano
  • Adagio for Organ
  • Allegro molto for Organ
  • Humoresque for Cello and Piano
  • Mazurka for Violin and Piano
  • Nocturne for Violin and Piano
  • Romance for Cello and Piano
  • Trois Pantins de Bois, opera
  • Classic pianist
  • Composer of classical music ( 20th century)
  • Music teacher
  • French composer
  • Born in 1882
  • Died in 1964
  • Man
Charles Munch (conductor)
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