Biography

Chaynes studied at the Conservatoire de Paris

Conservatoire de Paris

The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...

 with Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...

 and Jean Rivier

Jean Rivier

Jean Rivier was a French composer of classical music.He composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments....

. In 1951 he won the Prix de Rome

Prix de Rome

The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...

 with the cantata Et l'homme se vit les portes rouvrir. During his stay at the Villa Medici in Rome he wrote the First Concerto for String Orchestra and the Ode for a Tragic Death.

In 1956 he became a producer at the Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (RTF). In 1964 he succeeded Marius Constant

Marius Constant

Marius Constant was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Known primarily for his television soundtracks, his most widely heard score was the iconic Twilight Zone theme song....

 as head of the channel France Musique. From 1975 to 1990 he headed the service de la création musicale at Radio France

Radio France

Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...

.

In addition to several operas, one symphony and chamber works Chaynes composed numerous concertos, etc. for trumpet, violin, piano and organ, and two orchestral concerts. In 1966 he composed a concerto for organ, string orchestra, timpani and percussio for the organist Marie-Claire Alain

Marie-Claire Alain

Marie-Claire Alain is a French organist and organ teacher best known for her prolific recording career. She is particularly known for her ability to perform substantial works entirely from memory.-Background and education:...

 . His Piano Concerto was premiered in 1967 by Yvonne Loriod

Yvonne Loriod

Yvonne Loriod was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.-Life:...

.

Chaynes was inter alia the Grand Prix Musical of Paris (1965), the Prix du Disque of the Académie du disque français (1968, 1970, 1975 and 1981), the Prix de la Tribune internationale des compositeurs UNESCO (1976), the Prix Musical de la SACD (1988) and the Orphée d'Or of the Académie du Disque Lyrique (1996 and 2003). He was awarded officer of the Legion of Honour, the Ordre national du Mérite

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

 and Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...

. In 2005 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts

Académie des beaux-arts

The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...

.

Selected works

• Concerto for organ, string orchestra, timpani and percussion (1966)
• Piano Concerto (1966)
• Alternances for viola and piano (1966)

External links