Maurice Ohana

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Maurice Ohana (born June 12, 1913 in Casablanca , † November 13, 1992 in Paris ) was a French composer of Moroccan origin, although his father came from the British Gibraltar .

Life

Ohana came from an Andalusian - Sephardic family. He spent his youth in French Morocco and received a French education. At the age of 20, he and his family moved to the south of France. Ohana first studied architecture before embarking on a musical career. He studied in Paris, Barcelona and Rome. His teachers were Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur in Paris and from 1944 Alfredo Casella in Rome. Between 1936 and 1947 Ohana also worked as a concert pianist . The first compositions were written between 1944 and 1946.

After the end of World War II , in which he had participated in the fighting in Italy on the British side, he moved to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life.

Ohana wrote various instrumental concerts, including a guitar and a trumpet concerto, a concerto for two pianos, percussion and orchestra, ballet music, operas and film music. He was one of the founders of the Groupe Zodiaque , which advocated complete freedom of musical expression. His compositions reveal Spanish and French influences, such as by Ravel , Debussy , Manuel de Falla , Isaac Albéniz , but also by Stravinsky and Bartók .

The musicologist Harry Halbreich characterized Ohana's artistic work and its position in music history in 1997 with the following words: “ The fact that Maurice Ohana was one of the very greatest composers of this century seems to remain one of the best guarded secrets of our musical life. “(The fact that Maurice Ohana was one of the greatest composers of this century seems to be one of the best kept secrets of our musical life).

Works (selection)

Operas

  • Chanson de toile (with puppets), 1960
  • Syllabaise pour Phèdre , 1969
  • Autodafé (with puppets), 1972

Oratorio

Orchestral works

  • Concerto for two pianos, percussion and orchestra
  • Concerto for piano and orchestra (1980–1981)
  • Guitar concert
  • Two violoncello concerts
  • T'Harân Ngô, symphonic work (1973–1974)
  • Chiffre de Clavecin , concerto for harpsichord and 21 instruments
  • Piece for piano, flute, kithara and orchestra, with third tones
  • Funeral song for Claude Debussy for piano, three-tone kithara, voices and chamber orchestra

Chamber music

The Tiento was originally the Spanish counterpart to Toccata - albeit more introspective, the expressiveness more on the instrument itself than on the brilliant style - and also a somewhat more serious form of flamenco .
  • 24 Preludes for Piano, 1973
  • Cinq séquences for string quartet, 1964

literature

  • Alfred Baumgartner: The great music guide. 20th century music . Kiesel, Salzburg 1985, ISBN 3-7023-4005-X , p. 534
  • Harry Halbreich: Maurice Ohana: An Andalusian from Paris to New Orleans , in: Supplement to the CD Concerto pour violoncello. Concerto pour piano - T'Harân-Ngô , Timpani 1997/2008, pp. 10-13.
  • Alfred Baumgartner: Propylaea World of Music - The Composers - A lexicon in five volumes . tape 4 . Propylaen Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-549-07830-7 , pp. 196 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Harry Halbreich: Maurice Ohana: An Andalusian from Paris to New Orleans , in: Supplement to the CD Concerto pour violoncello. Concerto pour piano - T'Harân-Ngô , Timpani 1997/2008, p. 10.
  2. ^ Quote from Harry Halbreich: Maurice Ohana: An Andalusian from Paris to New Orleans , in: Supplement to the CD Concerto pour violoncello. Concerto pour piano - T'Harân-Ngô , Timpani 1997/2008, p. 10.
personal data
SURNAME Ohana, Maurice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Casablanca
DATE OF DEATH November 13, 1992
Place of death Paris