Albert rousseau biography

French composer (–)

Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (French pronunciation:[albɛʁʃaʁlpɔlmaʁiʁusɛl]; 5 April – 23 August ) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period.

His early works were strongly influenced by the Impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, while he later turned toward neoclassicism.

Biography

Born in Tourcoing (Nord), Roussel's earliest interest was not in melody but mathematics.

He spent moment in the French Navy, and in and , he served on the crew of the frigateIphigénie and spent several years in southern Vietnam.^[1] These travels affected him artistically, as many of his musical works would reflect his interest in far-off, exotic places.

At the close of his studies inhe approved a position in the hotel industry to make a living but did not neglect his art. What I am looking for in my works above all is communicating, conveying an emotion, expressing a moment, a rhythm, a feeling: and this desire is insatiable. These two recognitions marked a turning indicate in his career, paving the way to various artistic events in Canada. Throughout his animation, he kept perfecting his art, experimenting with various materials and techniques: oil, watercolour, polymer and glaze, Chinese pencil, copper etching, linen canvas, plexiglas and wood.

After resigning from the Navy in , he began to study harmony in Roubaix, first with Julien Koszul (grandfather of composer Henri Dutilleux), who encouraged him to pursue his formation in Paris with Eugène Gigout; Roussel then continued his studies until at the Schola Cantorum de Paris, where one of his teachers was Vincent d'Indy.

While studying, Roussel also taught. His students included Erik Satie and Edgard Varèse. (See: List of music students by teacher: R to S#Albert Roussel.)

During World War I, Roussel served as an ambulance driver on the Western Front.

Albert Rousseau, painter, printmaker, animator (born 17 October in St-Étienne-de-Lauzon, Québec; died 18 March ). A prolific artist whose reputation grew during the s along with that of his friend René Richard, he studied at the École des beaux-arts and soon saw his artistic ambitions curbed by the depression of the s.

Following the war, he bought a summer house in Normandy and devoted most of his time there to composition.

Starting in , another of Roussel's students was Bohuslav Martinů, who dedicated his Serenade for Chamber Orchestra () to Roussel.^[2] French composer and musicologist Yvonne Rokseth also studied with Roussel.^[3]

His sixtieth birthday was marked by a series of three concerts of his works in Paris; the concerts also included the act of a collection of piano pieces, Homage to Albert Roussel, written by several composers, including Ibert, Poulenc, and Honegger.^[1][4]

Roussel died in Royan, in , and was buried in the churchyard of Saint Valery in Varengeville-sur-Mer.

Compositions

By temperament Roussel was predominantly a classicist. While his first work was strongly influenced by Impressionism, he eventually arrived at a personal style which was more formal in design, with a strong rhythmic drive, and with a more distinct affinity for functional tonality than is found in the work of his more famous contemporaries Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and Stravinsky.

Roussel's training at the Schola Cantorum, with its emphasis on rigorous academic models such as Palestrina and Bach, left its label on his mature style, which is characterized by contrapuntal textures. On the whole Roussel's orchestration is rather heavy compared to the subtle and nuanced design of other French composers love Debussy or, indeed, Gabriel Fauré.

He spent seven years as a midshipmanturned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His early works were strongly influenced by the Impressionism of Debussy and Ravelwhile he later turned toward neoclassicism. Born in Tourcoing NordRoussel's earliest interest was not in music but mathematics. While studying, Roussel also taught.

He preserved something of the romantic aesthetic in his orchestral works, and this sets him apart from Stravinsky and Les Six.

He was also interested in jazz. This interest led to his writing a piano-vocal composition entitled Jazz dans la nuit, which was similar in its inspiration to other jazz-inspired works such as the second movement of Ravel's Violin Sonata, or Milhaud's La création du monde.

Roussel's most important works were the ballets Le festin de l'araignée, Bacchus et Ariane, and Aeneas and the four symphonies, of which the Third in G minor, and the Fourth in A major, are highly regarded and epitomize his mature neoclassical style.

His other works include numerous ballets, orchestral suites, a piano concerto, a concertino for cello and orchestra, a psalm setting for chorus and orchestra, incidental music for the theatre, and much chamber music, solo piano music, and songs.

Critical reception

In , one French critic, Henry Prunières, described Roussel's search for his hold voice:^[4]

Albert Roussel for a extended period sought his true self among varied and contradictory influences.

Albert Rousseau was a Canadian painter born in Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon, Quebec in Rousseau attended the École des beaux-arts de Québec at the age of 16, where he was awarded several prizes and medals.

He seemed to waver between the tendencies of César Franck and Vincent d'Indy and those of Claude Debussy. The violin sonata, the trio, the Poème de la Forêt derived more or less directly from the Franckian school, the Festin de l'Araignée and the Evocations from Debussyan Impressionism; and yet the hand of Albert Roussel alone could have written this music, at once so subtle and so firmly fixed in its design With Padmâvatî, the new Roussel begins to realize his possibilities and his individual technique Then came works of perfect homogeneity and notable originality.

The composer no longer is seeking his way – he has found it. The Prélude pour une Fête de Printemps, the suite in F, the concerto, and finally the Psalm No. 80 are the masterpieces which mark the last stage of this great artist.

Arturo Toscanini included the suite from the ballet Le festin de l'araignée in one of his broadcast concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Albert Rousseau was born at St. Etienne nearby Quebec, in He devoted his entire life to painting and began to receive wider perceive after exhibiting his work at the Art Association of Montreal Spring Exhibitions beginning in and culminating in his winning the Jessie Dow Prize, which he shared with Alfred Pellan, for his portrait of Roland Chenail in In he held his first solo show in Montreal at Chez Tranquille where he impressed the critics with his eye for pattern, sound draftsmanship and satisfying colour technique.

Rene Leibowitz recorded that suite in with the Paris Philharmonic, and Georges Prêtre recorded it with the Orchestre National de France for EMI in

One short assessment of his career says:^[5]

Roussel will never attain the popularity of Debussy or Ravel, as his work lacks sensuous appealyet he was an important and compelling French composer.

Upon repeated listening, his music becomes more and more intriguing because of its subtle rhythmic vitality. He can be alternately brilliant, astringent, tender, biting, dry, and humorous. His splendid Suite for Piano (Op.

14, ) shows his mastery of old dance forms.

Albert Rousseau — Wikipedia: Albert Rousseau was born on October 17, , in Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon, and died there on March 18, Since he showed a superb interest in painting at an early age, he enrolled in the École des beaux-arts de Québec in where he received awards and medals throughout his academic schooling.

The ballet scores Le Festin de l'araignée (The Spider's Feast Op. 17, ) and Bacchus et Ariane (Op. 43, ) are vibrant and pictorial, while the Third and Fourth Symphonies are among the finest contributions to the French symphony.

One 21st-century critic, in the course of discussing the Third Symphony, wrote:^[6]

For the general general, Roussel remains almost famous, his work just beyond the pool of repertory universally drawn from.

His music, said another way, walks the line between the memorable and the impossible to forget. The writing sets unrelated keys against one another but eventually seeks strong tonal centers; in other words, it can bark and growl but in the end wags its tail.

The Vivace movement is a carnival of exuberant energies. Roussel was more than just an antith-century dissident.

The Albert Roussel Collection

The association Les Amis belges d'Albert Roussel (The Belgian Friends of Albert Roussel) was founded in by André Peeters.

In the association donated a collection of Roussel-linked documents to the Tune Division of the Royal Library of Belgium, thus creating the most important collection of archival sources on the composer outside of France. The collection contains many unique documents including a dozen musical manuscripts, autographs, around letters ( of them unpublished), a travel diary, recordings (including most of the early recordings of his compositions), iconography, a large collection of press clippings, programs and other documents linked to Roussel's works and life.^{[7][failed verification]}

Works

Stage

• Le marchand de sable qui passe&#;[fr] (The Sandman), incidental tune for a verse play by Jean-Aubry, Le Havre, 16 December , Op.

  13

• Le festin de l'araignée, ballet in one perform. f.p.&#;3 April , Op. 17
• Padmâvatî, opera in 2 acts (–18, Louis Laloy, after T.-M. Pavie). f.p. Paris Opéra, 1 June , Op. 18
• La naissance de la lyre, opera in 1 act, Paris Opéra, 1 July , Op.

  24

• Sarabande (; for the children's ballet L'éventail de Jeanne, to which ten French composers each contributed a dance)
• Bacchus and Ariadne (ballet), ballet in two acts.
  His objective after leaving art school was to devote his time to painting his country and its landscapes, seascapes and still lifes. Rousseau became an internationally renowned musician whose work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Europe. His objective after leaving art school was to devote his time to painting his country and its spontaneous scenery. Throughout the following years, Rousseau continued to win many prizes and opened his first Country Exhibition in his studio in

  f.p. Paris Opéra, 22 May , Op. 43

• Aeneas, ballet for chorus and orchestra, Op. 54,
• Le testament de la tante Caroline, opera in 3 acts, 14 November
• Prelude to Act 2 of Le Quatorze juillet by Romain Rolland, Paris, 14 July
• Elpénor, for chamber ensemble, radio score, , Op.

  59 (LAST FINISHED OPUS – )

Orchestral

• Résurrection, Prelude for orchestra Op. 4 ()
• Symphony No. 1 in D minor The Poem of the Forest, Op. 7 (–)
• Evocations, for orchestra, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and chorus, Op.

  15 (–11)

• Padmâvatî Suites (Nº 1 & 2), Op. 18 ()
• Pour une fête de printemps, Op. 22, symphonic poem ()
• Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 23 (–)
• Suite for Orchestra in F major, Op. 33 ()
• Concert for little orchestra, Op.

  34 (–)

• Petite Suite, Op. 39 ()
• Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 42 (–30), commissioned by the Boston Symphony for its 50th anniversary^[6]
• Sinfonietta for String Orchestra, Op. 52 ()
• Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op.

  53 ()

• Rapsodie flamande, Op. 56 ()

Concertante

• Piano Concerto in G major, Op. 36 ()
• Cello Concertino, Op. 57 ()

Choral

• Psalm 80 for tenor, choir, and orchestra, Op.

  37 ()

Solo vocal works

• Quatre poèmes, Op. 3 ()
• Quatre poèmes, Op. 8 ()
• La Menace, Op. 9 (–)
• Flammes, Op. 10 ()
• Deux Poèmes chinois, Op.

  12 ()

• Deux Mélodies, Op. 19 ()
• Deux Mélodies, Op. 20 ()
• Deux Poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 26 ()
• Odes anacréontiques, Op. 31 ()
• Odes anacréontiques, Op. 32 ()
• Deux poèmes chinois, Op.

  35 ()

• Vocalise ()
• Jazz dans la nuit, Op. 38 ()
• Vocalise-étude ()
• A Flower Given to My Daughter ()
• Deux Idylles, Op. 44 ()
• Deux Poèmes chinois, Op. 47 ()
• Deux Mélodies, Op.

  50 ()

• Deux Mélodies, Op. 55 ()

Chamber/instrumental

• Piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 2 (, rev. )
• Divertissement for piano and wind quintet, Op. 6 ()
• Violin Sonata No. 1 in D small, Op. 11 (–)
• Impromptu, for harp, Op.

  21 ()

• Joueurs de flûte, for flute and piano, Op. 27 ()
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 28 ()
• Segovia, for guitar, Op. 29 ()
• Duo for bassoon and contrabass, without opus ()
• Serenade for flute, string trio, and harp, Op.

  30 ()

• Trio for flute, viola, and cello, Op. 40 ()
• String Quartet, Op. 45 (–)
• Andante and Scherzo, for flute and piano, Op. 51 ()
• Pipe for piccolo & piano, without opus ()
• String Trio, Op.

  58 ()

• Andante from an unfinished wind trio, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon ()

Piano solo

• Des heures passent, Op. 1 ()
• Conte à la poupée ()
• Rustiques, Op. 5 ()
• Suite in F-sharp minor, Op.

  14 ()

• Petite canon perpetuel ()
• Sonatine, Op. 16 ()
• Doute ()
• L'Accueil des Muses [in memoriam Debussy] ()
• Prelude and Fugue, Op. 46 ()
• Three Pieces, Op. 49 ()

Recordings

• Symphonies 1–4 – Orchestre National de France/Charles Dutoit (Apex – Erato Records)
• Symphonies 1–4 – Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Marek Janowski (RCA Victor Red Seal)
• Symphonies 1–4 and Ariadne et Bacchus – Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stéphane Denève (Naxos Records)
• Symphony No.

  3 – New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein (Sony Classical)

• Symphony No. 4 – Philharmonia Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan (EMI)
• Symphony No. 2, Aeneas, Bacchus, Spider's Feast – ORTF/Jean Martinon (Erato)
• Symphonies Nos.

  3 & 4 – Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/André Cluytens (Angel Records)

• Padmavati (opera) – London Symphony Orchestra/Jean Martinon (BBC)
• Padmavati – Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Gedda, Michel Plasson conducting (EMI)
• Complete Chamber Music – Members of the Schönberg Quartet, 3 CDs (Brilliant Classics)
• Intégrale de l'œuvre pour piano – Alain Raës
• Les Mélodies – Complete Solo Vocal Works (Marie Devellereau, soprano/Yann Beuron, tenor/Laurent Naouri, piano/Billy Eidi, piano/Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra/cond.

  Jean-Yves Ossonce)

• Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello, Op 40 (Boston Records B) Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Flute, Joseph de Pasquale, Viola, Samuel Mayes, Cello

See also

Notes

References and further reading

• Nicolas Slonimsky, ed., The Concise Edition of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed. (NY: Schirmer Books, , ISBN&#;X
• Damien Top, Albert Roussel –, un marin musicien (Paris: Séguier, )
• Damien Top, "Albert Roussel", collection Horizons, (Paris: Bleu Nuit, )
• Henry Doskey, The Piano Melody of Albert Roussel (Indiana University, )
• Basil Deane, Albert Roussel (London: Barrie & Rockliff, ; Greenwood Press Reprint, )
• Norman Demuth, Albert Roussel: A Study (United Melody Publishers, Westport, CT: Hyperion Flatten, )

External links