Paul Paray
Paul Paray (born May 24, 1886 in Le Tréport , † October 10, 1979 in Monte Carlo ) was a French conductor and composer.
Paray had first lessons from his father, who was an organist, and attended the Saint-Evode choir school in Rouen before entering the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 17 . Here he studied with Xavier Leroux and Georges Caussade . He also worked as a cellist at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater and as a pianist at the Cabaret Les Quat'Z'Arts , for which he composed under the pseudonym Paul Apria .
In 1911 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata Yanitza . His stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, which was associated with the award, was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. He was drafted into military service and after a few months came into German captivity.
After the war he was first second conductor, then chief conductor of the Orchester Lamoureux , which he directed until 1928. With the orchestra he performed works by contemporary composers such as Gabriel Fauré , Pierre de Bréville , Gabriel Pierné , Maurice Ravel , Florent Schmitt , Albert Roussel , André Caplet , Marcel Dupré , Claude Delvincourt , Jacques Ibert and Maurice Duruflé and presented the soloists to the Paris audience Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin .
After 1928 he conducted a. a. the orchestras of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo , the Casino de Vichy , the Concerts Colonne and the Paris Opera , where he a. a. Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen performed. In 1939 he appeared for the first time in the USA with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra . In 1940 he fled from the German invasion first to Marseille, later to Monte Carlo, where he became chief conductor of the opera.
After the Second World War he first worked with the orchestra of the Concerts Colonne and performed throughout Europe a. a. with the Vienna Philharmonic . After a US tour, which took him as a guest conductor to Boston, New York, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago, he took over the direction of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1951 , which he held until 1962. He then worked as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras a. a. in the US, France and Israel.
Paray was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts , an honorary citizen of Monaco and Detroit and a holder of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor .
Works
- Tarantelle for piano
- Scherzetto for piano
- Impromptu for piano
- Vertige for piano
- Incertitude for piano
- Entêtement for piano
- Berceuse for piano
- Nuit d'Italie , song (text by Paul Bourget )
- Laurette , song (text by Alfred de Vigny )
- Sépulcre , song (text by Leon Volade )
- Os Justi , Offertory for Choir and Organ, 1903
- Paroles à la lune , song (text by Anna de Noailles ), 1903
- Panis Angelicus for voice and cello, 1904
- Dans les bois , Lied (text by Gérard de Nerval ), 1904
- Trio for piano, violin and violoncello, 1905
- Valse-Caprice for piano, 1906
- Sérénade for violin or flute and piano, 1908
- Sonata in c minor for violin and piano, 1908
- Romance for piano, 1909
- Fantasy for piano and orchestra, 1909
- Portraits d'Enfants for piano, 1910
- Humoresque for violin and piano, 1910
- Nocturne for violin and piano, 1910
- La promesse , song (text by Gabriel Montoya ), 1910
- Acis et Galatée , cantata, 1910
- Yanitza , lyrical scene after Georges Spitzmuller , 1911
- La plainte , song (text by Lucien Paté ), 1911
- Le papillon , song (text by Jean Aicard ), 1911
- Valse, sur un thème de Franz Schubert for piano, 1911
- Artémis troublée , ballet by Léon Bakst , dedicated to Ida Rubinstein , 1911–12
- Impressions pour le piano , 1912
- Reflets romantiques for piano, 1912
- Le champ de bataille (text by Theophile Gautier ), 1912
- Trois mélodies (after Th. Gautier), 1912
- Villanelle , Lied (text by Th. Gautier), 1912
- Chanson violette (text by Albert Samain ), 1913
- Le chevrier , song (text by José-Maria de Heredia ), 1913
- Il est d'étranges soirs , song (text by Albert Samain ), 1913
- Viole , Lied (text by Albert Samain), 1913
- Sept Pièces for piano, 1913
- Presto for piano, 1913
- Thème et Variations for piano, 1913
- Prélude en fa majeur for piano, 1913
- Allegro for piano, 1913
- Scherzo for piano, 1913
- Joan of Arc , oratorio (text by Gabriel Montoya ), 1913
- D'une âme ... for piano, 1914
- Pièces pour quatre mains for piano, 1914
- In manus tuas for voice, oboe and organ, 1914
- Quatuor in e minor (string quartet), 1919
- 1st Sonata in B flat major for violoncello and piano, 1919
- 2nd Sonata in C major for violoncello and piano,
- String Symphony , 1919
- Quatre poèmes de Jean Lahor , 1921
- Vocalise-Étude for medium voice, 1924
- Salve Regina for choir a cappella, 1929
- Prelude , 1930
- Messe du cinquième centenaire de la mort de Jeanne d'Arc for soli, choir and orchestra, 1931
- Symphony No. 1 , 1934
- Symphony No. 2 1936
Web links
- Paul Paray. French Composer and Conductor ( Memento from January 31, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- Website Cercle Paul Paray (French)
- Peter Gutmann: A Frenchman in Detroit. In: Classical Notes. 1999 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Noël Goodwin: Paray, Paul (MA Charles). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Paray, Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French conductor and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 24, 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Le Tréport |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 10, 1979 |
| Place of death | Monte Carlo |