Claude Helffer
Encyclopedia
Claude Helffer was a French pianist noted particularly for his advocacy of 20th-century music.
, and began piano lessons at the age of five and from the age of ten until the outbreak of World War II
he studied with Robert Casadesus
. During the War he entered the élite École polytechnique
and fought for the Resistance
(in the Maquis du Vercors
). After the War he studied theory and composition with René Leibowitz
. He made his début in Paris in 1948 and from 1954 appeared regularly in the concerts of the Domaine musical
. He married the noted ethnomusicologist, Mireille Helffer, whom he met at the Lycée Molière two years earlier, in June 1946.
, 1974), Concerto (Boucourechliev
, 1975), Stances (Betsy Jolas
, 1978), Concerto no. 1 (Luis de Pablo
, 1980), Envoi (Gilles Tremblay
, 1982), and Modifications (Michael Jarrell
, 1983). Conductors he collaborated with included Boulez
, Bour
, Gielen
, Leibowitz
, Maderna
, Marriner
, Martinon
, Van Otterloo
, Prêtre
and Scherchen
. His discography includes the complete piano music of Schoenberg
(Grand Prix du Disque), Debussy
and Ravel
and the Sonatas
of Boulez
, Berg
and Barraqué
.
es all over the world, most notably at the Salzburg
Summer Academy from 1985 to 1998.
Biography
He was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and began piano lessons at the age of five and from the age of ten until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he studied with Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a famous musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus.-Biography:Robert Casadesus was born in Paris...
. During the War he entered the élite École polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
and fought for the Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
(in the Maquis du Vercors
Maquis du Vercors
-In fiction:The maquis du Vercors is depicted and veterans act in Pierre Schoendoerffer's Above the Clouds 2002 feature film, and in the third season of the British TV programme Wish Me Luck, which first aired in 1990.-See also:...
). After the War he studied theory and composition with René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz was a French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher born in Warsaw, Poland.-Career:...
. He made his début in Paris in 1948 and from 1954 appeared regularly in the concerts of the Domaine musical
Domaine musical
The Domaine musical was a concert society established by Pierre Boulez in Paris, which was active from 1954 to 1973. Composers represented at its concerts included Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, John Cage, Sylvano Bussotti, Mauricio Kagel, Hans Werner Henze, Henri Pousseur, Ernst...
. He married the noted ethnomusicologist, Mireille Helffer, whom he met at the Lycée Molière two years earlier, in June 1946.
Works
Helffer gave many premières of new works and was the dedicatee of several notable works, including Erikhthon (XenakisIannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
, 1974), Concerto (Boucourechliev
André Boucourechliev
André Boucourechliev was a French composer of Bulgarian origin.Born in Sofia, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently he studied in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he later taught piano...
, 1975), Stances (Betsy Jolas
Betsy Jolas
Betsy Jolas is a French composer.Betsy Jolas was born in Paris. Resident in the United States from 1940 until 1946, she studied composition with Paul Boepple and piano with Helen Schnabel. On her return to France she continued her studies with Simone Plé-Caussade, Darius Milhaud and Olivier...
, 1978), Concerto no. 1 (Luis de Pablo
Luís de Pablo
Luis de Pablo is a Spanish composer.He was born in Bilbao, living in Madrid from age six and starting to compose aged 12. Although he received composition lessons from Maurice Ohana and Max Deutsch, he was essentially an autodidact in composition...
, 1980), Envoi (Gilles Tremblay
Gilles Tremblay
Gilles Tremblay, is a Canadian composer. He studied at the Conservatories of Montreal and Paris , where his teachers including Olivier Messiaen , Yvonne Loriod , and Maurice Martenot . He also attended Stockhausen's summer courses at Darmstadt, where he became interested in electro-acoustic...
, 1982), and Modifications (Michael Jarrell
Michael Jarrell
Michael Jarrell is a Swiss composer. Born in Geneva, he studied at the Conservatoire there, and later with Klaus Huber in Freiburg.His works span many genres...
, 1983). Conductors he collaborated with included Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Bour
Ernest Bour
Ernest Bour was a French conductor. Born in Thionville, Moselle, Bour studied at both the University and the Conservatoire of Strasbourg...
, Gielen
Michael Gielen
-Professional career:Gielen was born in Dresden, Germany, to opera director Josef Gielen. Through his mother, Rose, he is the nephew of Eduard Steuermann and Salka Steuermann Viertel. He began his career as a pianist in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Erwin Leuchter and gave an early...
, Leibowitz
René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz was a French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher born in Warsaw, Poland.-Career:...
, Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
, Marriner
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner is an English conductor and violinist.-Biography:Marriner was born in Lincoln and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the...
, Martinon
Jean Martinon
Jean Martinon was a French conductor and composer.-Biography:Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to study under Albert Roussel for composition, under Charles Munch and Roger Désormière for conducting, under Vincent d'Indy for harmony,...
, Van Otterloo
Willem van Otterloo
Jan Willem van Otterloo was a Dutch conductor, cellist and composer.-Biography:Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspector, and his wife Anna Catharina Enderlé...
, Prêtre
Georges Prêtre
- Biography :He was born in Waziers , and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting under André Cluytens among others at the Conservatoire de Paris. Amongst his early musical interests were jazz and trumpet. After graduating, he conducted in a...
and Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
. His discography includes the complete piano music of Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
(Grand Prix du Disque), Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
and Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and the Sonatas
Piano sonatas (Boulez)
Pierre Boulez has composed three piano sonatas. The First Piano Sonata in 1946, a Second Piano Sonata in 1948, and a Third Piano Sonata was composed in 1955–57 with further elaborations up to at least 1963, though only two of its movements have been published.-First Piano Sonata:Boulez's First...
of Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
and Barraqué
Jean Barraqué
Jean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué was a French composer and writer on music who developed an individual form of serialism which is displayed in a small output of highly complex but passionate works.-Life:...
.
Teaching
Helffer gave master classMaster class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es all over the world, most notably at the Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
Summer Academy from 1985 to 1998.
Discography
- BarraquéJean BarraquéJean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué was a French composer and writer on music who developed an individual form of serialism which is displayed in a small output of highly complex but passionate works.-Life:...
: Piano sonata (recorded 1969). Astrée (LP) - BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
: Out of Doors, Piano sonata, Popular Romanian Dances, Suite op. 14, Improvisations op. 20. Harmonia Mundi (CD) - Bartók: Mikrokosmos. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD)
- Bartók: Piano sonata. Debussy: 3 Etudes. EvangelistiFranco EvangelistiFranco Evangelisti , was an Italian composer specifically interested in the scientific theories behind sound.-Biography:...
: Due Proiezioni sonore. SerockiKazimierz SerockiKazimierz Serocki was a Polish composer and one of the founders of the Warsaw Autumn contemporary music festival.-Life:...
: A piacere. RCA Red Seal (LP) - BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
: Piano sonata no. 2. BergAlban BergAlban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
: Piano Sonata. Deutsche Grammophon (LP) - Boulez: Piano sonatas nos. 1-3. Astrée (LP/CD)
- Debussy: Complete works for solo piano. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD)
- MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius 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...
: Piano concertos nos. 1 & 4, Le Carnaval d’Aix, 5 Etudes, Ballade. Orchestre National cond. D. Robertson. Erato (CD) - RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
: Complete works for solo piano. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD, 2 vols.) - RousselAlbert RousselAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
: Piano Concerto. Omega (LP) - SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
: Piano Concerto, op.42 (recorded c.1952). Orchestre Radio-Symphonique de Paris cond. René Leibowitz. Renaissance/Period/Counterpoint (LP) - SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
: Complete works for solo piano (recorded 1976). Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD) - SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
: Complete works for solo piano (recorded 2000). Pianovox (CD) - XenakisIannis XenakisIannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
: Mists, Herma, A r., Akea, Dikhtas, Evryali, chamber works. Irvine ArdittiIrvine ArdittiIrvine Arditti is a British violinist.-Life:He began his studies at the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 16 where he studied with Clarence Myerscough and Manoug Parikian. He joined the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976 and after two years, at the age of 25, became its Co-Concert Master...
(violin); Arditti QuartetArditti QuartetThe Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
. Astrée Auvidis (2 CDs)