André Mathieu (pianist)

René André Rodolphe Mathieu (born February 18, 1929 in Montreal ; † June 2, 1968 there ) was a Canadian pianist and composer.

André Mathieu, around eleven years old

Mathieu was encouraged from an early age by his father, the composer and pianist Rodolphe Mathieu . At the age of four he composed the Trois Études for piano, and a performance at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in early 1935 with his own compositions made him famous as a musical child prodigy. In the following year he performed with an orchestra under the direction of Jean-Josaphat Gagnier as a soloist in his Concertino No. 1 for CBC / Radio-Canada .

A scholarship from the Province of Québec allowed him to stay in Paris, where he studied piano with Yves Nat and Elisa Louise Gabrielle Giraud-Latarse from 1936 to 1939, and harmony and composition with Jacques de la Presle . Two appearances in the Salle Chopin-Pleyel (1936) and the Salle Gaveau (1939) were enthusiastically received by audiences and critics.

After his return he moved with his family to New York, where he made his pianist debut in 1940 and continued his composition lessons with Harold Morris . In 1942 he performed at Carnegie Hall and played his works in a League of Composers concert. In 1943 he returned to Montreal and played there in concerts alongside his own works compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach , Ludwig van Beethoven , Frédéric Chopin , Claude Debussy , Franz Liszt , Maurice Ravel and others.

From 1946 to 1947 Mathieu studied composition with Arthur Honegger and piano with Jules Gentil in Paris . During this time he wrote his third piano concerto, which was played by the pianist Neil Chotem in the Canadian film La Forteresse . In 1947 he returned to Canada, where he devoted himself to teaching and continued to compose. However, his pianistic career ended. He took part in pianothons , piano competitions that were only intended to entertain the audience, fell into depression and developed alcohol problems.

For the welcoming song and the official theme of the 1976 Summer Olympics , parts of Mathieu's works were arranged. In the same year the Fondation André Mathieu was founded, which is dedicated to the publication and promotion of his work. A concert hall at the Collège Montmorency was named after him in 1978, and in 1987 a street in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district of Montreal.

Works

• Trois études , 1933
• Les Gros chars , 1934
• Procession d'éléphants , 1934
• Concertino No. 1 for piano and orchestra, premiered in 1935
• Trois Pièces pittoresques , 1936
• Homage to Mozart enfant , 1937
• Les Mouettes , 1938
• Concertino No. 2 for piano and orchestra, premiered in 1941
• Sonata for violin and piano, 1945
• Les Chères Mains , Lied, 1946
• Concerto No. 3 ( Quebec Concerto ) for piano and orchestra, 1947
• Le ciel est si bleu , song, 1947
• Quatre Mélodies , 1948
• Piano Trio , 1949
• Piano Quintet , 1953
• Mistassini , symphonic poem, 1954
• Fantaisie brésilienne for violin and piano
• Berceuse for violin and piano
• Complainte for violin and piano
• Suite for two pianos
• Les vagues
• Seasons canadiennes

Individual evidence