Louis Bailly

Louis Bailly at the Curtis Institute in 1925

Louis Bailly (born June 18, 1882 in Valenciennes , † November 21, 1974 in Cowansville , Québec ) was a Canadian violinist and music teacher of French origin.

Live and act

Louis Bailly studied violin and viola (viola) at the Conservatoire de Paris , from which he graduated in 1899 with a first prize. He was then violist at the Paris Opera , the Opéra-Comique and at the Concerts Colonne . In 1903 he was a founding member of the quartet of Eduard Capet, he also played in the quartet of Geloso- , Marsick and Mischa Elman .

Flonzaley Quartet from 1917 to 1924

The "Flonzaley Quartet", founded by Eduard de Coppet as his private orchestra, was looking for a replacement for their violist Ugo Ara, who had volunteered for the Italian army. They turned to Jacques Thibaud and Pierre Monteux for a recommendation. The desired ones were still under contract. Alfred Cortot suggested Louis Bailly for whom he could obtain an exemption from military service. So Bailly came to America and in 1917 he became a member of the Flonzaley Quartet, with which he played for two years until Ugo Ara's return. Ara's presence in the quartet did not last long, however, because after his release from the Italian army he had to contend with serious health problems. Bailly, who had meanwhile hired at the Berkshire String Quartet (for 1919–1920) from Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, took his place at Flonzaley again in October 1919 at their insistence. He played with the Flonzaley Quartet for a total of seven years until 1924.

André de Coppet guaranteed a fixed annual sum for the Flonzaley Quartet (about $ 30,000) and the contracts were set annually in 1919–1920 and 1920–1921. Then, in April 1922, at the urgent request of Mr. Bailly, they signed a three year contract ending June 1, 1924. De Coppet again pledged an annual sum (then about $ 36,000) for three years.

During this time there was considerable tension between Bailly and the other members of the Quartet, so that he was informed in December 1923 that his contract would not be extended when it expired on April 6, 1924. Bailly was bitterly angry and announced to his colleagues on March 4, 1924 that he was demanding the dissolution of the quartet and that after June 1, 1924 they could no longer appear under the name "Flonzaley Quartet". He even went so far as to demand that the name Flonzaley Quartet be auctioned. Bailly believed that the quartet was a commercial company that fell under New York State's "Partnership" law. He obtained an injunction that the quartet was not allowed to use the name "Flonzalay", which he informed his colleagues. The court saw a regulation "legally and artistically" as impracticable. Bailly was unhappy with the decision and went on to the New York Supreme Court. The quartet were meanwhile on their way to England with the SS "George Washington", with Félicien D'Archambeau as the new violist, to fulfill their concert engagements. Judge Giegerich finally revoked the ban and announced "serious doubts about the legality of the claim in general", which was then confirmed by two other judges.

In the proceedings, the judges decided in favor of the Quartet and De Coppet. The name "Flonzaley" was Edouard De Coppet's choice and existed years before Bailly's arrival. The quartet had already been successful under that name before this collaboration. The quartet is "a cultural mediator like a museum or an artistic institution to promote teaching of the highest quality". In no case should the quartet be viewed as a commercial company. (The relationship of the "partnership" between De Coppet as employer and the quartet as employees was circumvented.) Bailly was dissatisfied with the judgment and then turned to the appellate court in May 1925, which contradicted the judgment and the case for procedural deficiencies referred back. However, it confirmed that "under no circumstances should the name of the Quartet Flonzaley be sold". There was a threat of renewed legal proceedings when suddenly the lawyers of the two sides agreed in an out-of-court proceeding "without further legal claims from Mr. Bailly".

In 1919 he played with Harold Bauer at the Berkshire Festival in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the world premiere of Ernest Bloch's viola suite in the version for viola and piano, and the following year the world premiere of the original version for viola and orchestra in New York.

The teacher

From 1925 to 1941, Bailly taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia , where he established the first American faculty for viola. a. Stanley Solomon and Clermont Pépin were his students. From 1943 to 1957 he taught violin, viola and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec (CMM). At the CMM he was a. a. Teacher of Ethel Stark and from 1944 to 1945 supervised the string quartet, which was formed by Noël Brunet , Lionel Renaud , Lucien Robert and Roland Leduc .

In 1950 he became a Canadian citizen. Bailly was a Knight of the Legion of Honor .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Louis Bailly ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved August 21, 2016.
2. ↑ Flonzaley's Fight. TIME Magazine, Monday, Apr. 28, 1924
3. ↑ Le procès Louis Bailly vs. Quatuor du Flonzaley

Web links

The Curtis Institute of Music. Catalog 1925-26