Biography of the Day: Henri Dutilleux

[altmariusclassic]

Biography

by Uncle Dave Lewis

Henri Dutilleux is a hard-working French contemporary composer who emphasizes quality over quantity, shuns systems of formal organization, and writes rock-solid music tailored to the needs of specific ensembles. Dutilleux' independence of spirit sets him apart from many of his colleagues in France. His concern for instrumental color, spatial relationships among instrumental groups, and heterodox sense of spirituality maintains the French lineage of modernism that stems from the music of Debussy through the work of Messiaen. Dutilleux is deeply inspired by visual art, his orchestral work Timbres, espace, mouvement (1978) being directly inspired by Vincent van Gogh's painting The Starry Night.

Dutilleux was born the grandson of organist and composer Julien Koszul, who was onetime director of the Roubaix Conservatoire, a close friend of Gabriel Fauré, and helped foster the career of Albert Roussel. Dutilleux studied at the Douai Conservatoire until 1933 when he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire. His third Prix de Rome cantata, L'anneau de Roi, won the Premier Prix in 1938, but the outbreak of war curtailed his award. Dutilleux served as a stretcher-bearer, and later as a singing coach at the French opera. It was during the war that Dutilleux began to stake out his reputation as a composer in works such as the Sonatina for flute & piano (1943) and the song Chanson de la deportée (1945). Ever conscious of the quality of his small work list, Dutilleux has renounced all of the pieces that predate the Piano Sonata (1946-1948), written for his new bride, pianist Genevieve Joy. At war's end Dutilleux took a job as a producer for the ORTF (French public radio) that he kept until 1963. In this capacity his unit sponsored "radiophonic" pieces by Pierre Schaeffer, Antonín Artaud, and others. As a composer, Dutilleux elected to stay in the background, working hard and patiently waiting his turn.

That recognition came with his Symphony No. 1 (1951), which led to interest in Dutilleux, particularly among performers who have kept a stream of commissions coming his way since then. Among the artists who have had works written for them by Dutilleux are cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the Juilliard String Quartet, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Swiss conductor Paul Sacher. Many of these works, such as the string quartet Ainsi la nuit (1977), the orchestral pieces The Shadows of Time (1997), and Métaboles (1964), are already regarded as masterworks of Western literature.

Birth

Jan 22, 1916 in Angers, France

Genres

• Chamber Music
• Keyboard
• Orchestral

Country

France

Years Active

1929-1995

 

 

Henri Dutileux: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1

Hans Graf

Featured Artist

Hans Graf

Album

Henri Dutileux: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1

Performance

Sound

Label

Arte Nova [807860]

Time

71:48

AMG Album ID

W 128579

Corrections to this Entry?

Performances

Composer		Title	Year	Time
Henri Dutilleux		Symphony No. 2: "Le Double", for orchestra	2000	30:27
Henri Dutilleux		Métaboles, for orchestra	2000	18:07
Henri Dutilleux		The Shadows of Time, for 3 children's voices & orchestra	2000	23:14

[silvian dobre]

THANK -YOU VERRY MUCH !