André Cluytens
Encyclopedia
André Cluytens (26 March 19053 June 1967) was a Belgian-born French conductor
who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works. Although much of his career was in France, he was the first French conductor at Bayreuth in 1955; he also conducted the Ring and Parsifal at La Scala.
. In January 1927 he married Germaine Gilson, a soprano soloist in the troupe of the Théâtre Royal Français; they had one son, Michel (1943–69). Promoted to house conductor for the 1927-28 season, over the next five years Cluytens built up a broad opera (and ballet) repertoire in Antwerp: Mireille
, Madama Butterfly
, La traviata
, La fille du régiment
, La Basoche
, Ma mère l'oye
, Manon
, La poupée de Nuremberg
, Resurrection
, Lucia di Lammermoor
, Werther
, Jeux
, Le domino noir
, Le voyage en Chine, Les Huguenots
, Schwanda the Bagpiper, Salome
and Angélique.
of Toulouse, adding further to his repertoire, including operas such as Boris Godunov
, Lohengrin
, Ernani
, Tannhäuser
, Otello
, Die Walküre
and The Marriage of Figaro
as well as several operettas. In 1935 he moved to the Opéra National de Lyon
as principal conductor, adding more Wagner to his repertoire (Das Rheingold
and Siegfried
) and became the musical director there in 1942.
Cluytens volunteered to serve in the French army in September 1939 and following a medical was engaged as a French combatant, although he never saw action; he became a French citizen on 14 May 1940. Following the liberation of France, complaints from Bordeaux concerning his alleged collaboration with Nazi authorities in that city led to him being sentenced as part of the épuration
; after appeal, on 24 May 1946 his sentence was revoked.
In 1947, he was appointed musical director at the Opéra-Comique
, where he conducted 40 works between 1947–1953, including premieres of La carosse du Saint Sacrement, Marion and Le Oui des jeunes filles. His well-regarded work at the Opéra-Comique included a successful renewal of The Tales of Hoffmann in a fresh production in April 1948; Francis Poulenc
was delighted with his part in the recording with Opéra-Comique forces of his Les mamelles de Tirésias
. Also notable was the revival after 180 years of Blaise le savetier
(which was brought into the Salle Favart repertoire as a curtain-raiser for La boheme
, Werther and La traviata), and the French premiere of The Rake's Progress
in June 1953. His revival of Manon was highly praised – and representative of what Paris critics saw as a successful tenure at the Opéra-Comique; he also oversaw many all-Ravel
evenings. Cluytens resigned from the Opéra-Comique in December 1953 and conducted his last performance there (Manon) on 30 September 1954. He became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1953.
Having made his debut with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
on 20 December 1942, he succeeded Charles Munch in 1949 as principal conductor, which post he held until 1960. His contract required him to conduct half of the orchestra's concerts each season; he also led them on foreign tours. Cluytens was due to conduct the first concert to be given by Alfred Cortot
in Paris after his disgrace for Vichy
activities, in 1947; in the event the concerto was dropped and Cluytens refused to acknowledge Cortot as he and the orchestra left the stage for Cortot to play solo. Cluytens conducted the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra in a Beethoven
symphony cycle and then on its tour of Japan in 1964, continuing on his own to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
, South Australian Symphony Orchestra
, West Australian Symphony Orchestra
, Victorian Symphony Orchestra
and Queensland Symphony Orchestra
into July that year.
's opera
Tannhäuser
at the Bayreuth Festival
on 23 July 1955, being the first conductor of French nationality to conduct at Bayreuth (and only the third non-German to conduct there, after Toscanini
and de Sabata
). His other work at Bayreuth up to 1965 consisted of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(1956, 1957, 1958), Parsifal
(1957, 1965) and Lohengrin
(1958), returning for Tannhäuser in 1965. According to Wolfgang Wagner
, Cluytens was "universally liked for his amiable, open-minded attitude"; Hans Knappertsbusch
was delighted when Cluytens requested that the older conductor introduce him to Parsifal.
He was to introduce Régine Crespin
to Wieland Wagner
, which led to her engagements at Bayreuth from 1958. Having conducted a Ring cycle in Lyon in 1959, Cluytens conducted three cycles at La Scala, Milan in 1963 (with Birgit Nilsson
and Hans Hotter
).
Cluytens made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
in 1948, and later toured the UK, the US and Canada with the orchestra in 1956. He also worked with the Berlin Philharmonic as a guest conductor. Cluytens was well-versed in the German repertoire, and was also noted for authoritative interpretations of Ravel
and other modern French composers.
From 1964 he had a close relationship with Anja Silja
, whom he had met in Bayreuth and first conducted in Salome
at the Paris Opera. His death at the age of 62 occurred coincident with his reputation emerging not just primarily as a conductor of the French classics, but as an interpreter of the standard German/Austrian repertoire.
Cluytens died in 1967 at Neuilly-sur-Seine
, France.
in 1946. He recorded an extensive series of complete French operas with the forces of the Opéra-Comique and the Opéra National de Paris. He also recorded a wide range of orchestral works by the French masters, two traversals of the orchestral works of Ravel, and a complete cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1957-1960. Many of his records, and some live performances, have since been re-issued on CD, while film of him conducting Ravel and Tchaikovsky (with Emil Gilels
) have been presented on DVD.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works. Although much of his career was in France, he was the first French conductor at Bayreuth in 1955; he also conducted the Ring and Parsifal at La Scala.
Belgium
Cluytens was born in Antwerp into a musical family: his paternal grandfather, father and uncles were all professional musicians. His mother was a soprano at the opera, and after she died in 1906 his father married another singer. He entered the Royal Flemish Conservatory at the age of 9, graduating at 16 with first prizes in harmony and counterpoint, and piano. His father Alphonse, conductor of the Antwerp Opera (the Théâtre Royal Français), engaged his son as a chorusmaster and coach. He joined his father at the Opera, conducting productions there, making his debut on 14 December 1926 with Les pêcheurs de perlesLes pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
. In January 1927 he married Germaine Gilson, a soprano soloist in the troupe of the Théâtre Royal Français; they had one son, Michel (1943–69). Promoted to house conductor for the 1927-28 season, over the next five years Cluytens built up a broad opera (and ballet) repertoire in Antwerp: Mireille
Mireille (opera)
Mireille is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio.-Composition history:...
, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
, La Basoche
La Basoche
La Basoche is an opéra comique in three acts of 1890, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Albert Carré.-History:Messager's 1889 opérette Le mari de la reine at Bouffes-Parisiens was a disappointment, and the composer and his wife were struggling to afford even basic necessities...
, Ma mère l'oye
Ma Mère l'Oye
Ma mère l'oye is a musical work by French composer Maurice Ravel.-Piano versions:Ravel originally wrote Ma mère l'oye as a piano duet for the Godebski children, Mimi and Jean, ages 6 and 7. Ravel dedicated this work for four hands to the children...
, Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, La poupée de Nuremberg
La poupée de Nuremberg
La poupée de Nuremberg is a one-act opéra comique by Adolphe Adam to a libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Victor Arthur Rousseau de Beauplan. The story is based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s short story Der Sandmann...
, Resurrection
Resurrection (opera)
Resurrection is an opera by the English composer Peter Maxwell Davies. Maxwell Davies conceived in 1963 whilst at Princeton University. However, the composer did not complete the opera until over 20 years later...
, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, Jeux
Jeux
Jeux is the last work for orchestra written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" , it was originally intended to accompany a ballet, and was written for the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev to choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the scenario, but...
, Le domino noir
Le domino noir
Le domino noir is an opéra comique by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed on 2 December 1837 by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris. The libretto to the three-act piece is by Auber's usual collaborator, Eugène Scribe. It was one of Auber's most successful works,...
, Le voyage en Chine, Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
, Schwanda the Bagpiper, Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
and Angélique.
France
In 1932, he became the principal conductor at the Théâtre du CapitoleThéâtre du Capitole
The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse is an opera house and ballet company located within the main administration buildings, the Capitole, of the city of Toulouse in south-west France....
of Toulouse, adding further to his repertoire, including operas such as Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
, Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
, Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
and The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
as well as several operettas. In 1935 he moved to the Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
as principal conductor, adding more Wagner to his repertoire (Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
and Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
) and became the musical director there in 1942.
Cluytens volunteered to serve in the French army in September 1939 and following a medical was engaged as a French combatant, although he never saw action; he became a French citizen on 14 May 1940. Following the liberation of France, complaints from Bordeaux concerning his alleged collaboration with Nazi authorities in that city led to him being sentenced as part of the épuration
Épuration légale
The Épuration légale was the wave of official trials that followed the Liberation of France and the fall of the Vichy Regime...
; after appeal, on 24 May 1946 his sentence was revoked.
In 1947, he was appointed musical director at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
, where he conducted 40 works between 1947–1953, including premieres of La carosse du Saint Sacrement, Marion and Le Oui des jeunes filles. His well-regarded work at the Opéra-Comique included a successful renewal of The Tales of Hoffmann in a fresh production in April 1948; Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
was delighted with his part in the recording with Opéra-Comique forces of his Les mamelles de Tirésias
Les mamelles de Tirésias
Les mamelles de Tirésias is a surrealist two-act opéra bouffe by Francis Poulenc, based on the play of the same title by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was written in 1903 but first performed in 1917...
. Also notable was the revival after 180 years of Blaise le savetier
Blaise le savetier
Blaise le savetier is a 1759 one-act opéra comique, by the French composer François-André Danican Philidor. The libretto was by Michel-Jean Sedaine, after a story by Jean de La Fontaine entitled Conte d'une chose arrivée à Château-Thierry.-Performance history:The first complete opéra comique by...
(which was brought into the Salle Favart repertoire as a curtain-raiser for La boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Werther and La traviata), and the French premiere of The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
in June 1953. His revival of Manon was highly praised – and representative of what Paris critics saw as a successful tenure at the Opéra-Comique; he also oversaw many all-Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
evenings. Cluytens resigned from the Opéra-Comique in December 1953 and conducted his last performance there (Manon) on 30 September 1954. He became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1953.
Having made his debut with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini....
on 20 December 1942, he succeeded Charles Munch in 1949 as principal conductor, which post he held until 1960. His contract required him to conduct half of the orchestra's concerts each season; he also led them on foreign tours. Cluytens was due to conduct the first concert to be given by Alfred Cortot
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
in Paris after his disgrace for Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
activities, in 1947; in the event the concerto was dropped and Cluytens refused to acknowledge Cortot as he and the orchestra left the stage for Cortot to play solo. Cluytens conducted the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra in a Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
symphony cycle and then on its tour of Japan in 1964, continuing on his own to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
, South Australian Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
, West Australian Symphony Orchestra
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra , often known as the "Orchestra of the West", is the premier professional orchestra of the state of Western Australia.-History:...
, Victorian Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
and Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra is an Australian orchestra, based principally in Brisbane in the state of Queensland.The QSO played its first concert on 26 March 1947, with the orchestra consisting of 45 musicians, conducted by Percy Code. John Farnsworth Hall was recruited from the Sydney...
into July that year.
International career
He led a famous performance of WagnerRichard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
at the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
on 23 July 1955, being the first conductor of French nationality to conduct at Bayreuth (and only the third non-German to conduct there, after Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
and de Sabata
Victor de Sabata
Victor de Sabata was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and Wagner. He is also acclaimed for his interpretations of orchestral music...
). His other work at Bayreuth up to 1965 consisted of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
(1956, 1957, 1958), Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
(1957, 1965) and Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
(1958), returning for Tannhäuser in 1965. According to Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
, Cluytens was "universally liked for his amiable, open-minded attitude"; Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
was delighted when Cluytens requested that the older conductor introduce him to Parsifal.
He was to introduce Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim singing Wagner and Strauss heroines...
to Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, which led to her engagements at Bayreuth from 1958. Having conducted a Ring cycle in Lyon in 1959, Cluytens conducted three cycles at La Scala, Milan in 1963 (with Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
and Hans Hotter
Hans Hotter
Hans Hotter was a German operatic bass-baritone, admired internationally after World War II for the power, beauty, and intelligence of his singing, especially in Wagner operas. He was extremely tall and his appearance was striking because of his high, narrow face, wide mouth, and big, aquiline nose...
).
Cluytens made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
in 1948, and later toured the UK, the US and Canada with the orchestra in 1956. He also worked with the Berlin Philharmonic as a guest conductor. Cluytens was well-versed in the German repertoire, and was also noted for authoritative interpretations of Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and other modern French composers.
From 1964 he had a close relationship with Anja Silja
Anja Silja
Anja Silja Regina Langwagen, , born April 17, 1940, in Berlin, is a German soprano who is known for her great abilities as a singing-actress and for the vastness of her repertoire....
, whom he had met in Bayreuth and first conducted in Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
at the Paris Opera. His death at the age of 62 occurred coincident with his reputation emerging not just primarily as a conductor of the French classics, but as an interpreter of the standard German/Austrian repertoire.
Cluytens died in 1967 at Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, France.
Recordings
A prolific recording artist, Cluytens signed a contract with the French branch of EMI Pathé-MarconiPathé Records
Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...
in 1946. He recorded an extensive series of complete French operas with the forces of the Opéra-Comique and the Opéra National de Paris. He also recorded a wide range of orchestral works by the French masters, two traversals of the orchestral works of Ravel, and a complete cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1957-1960. Many of his records, and some live performances, have since been re-issued on CD, while film of him conducting Ravel and Tchaikovsky (with Emil Gilels
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...
) have been presented on DVD.
External links
- Société des concerts du Conservatoire
- [ Biography] at All Music.com
- Short biography, Recordings and discography, Youngrok Lee's Classical Music
- František Sláma (musician)František Sláma (musician)František Sláma was a significant Czech chamber music performer. He was the first Czech cellist who focused on Early music.-Biography:...
Archive. More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s: Conductors