Charles Koechlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Koechlin
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| Born | |
| Baptised | Paris, France |
| Died | 31 December 1950 (aged 83) Le Canadel, Var
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| Occupation | Composer educator Author |
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Notable work
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List of Compositions |
| Parent(s) | Georges Michel Koechlin Camille Jules Koechlin |
Charles Koechlin (born November 27, 1867, died December 31, 1950) was a French composer, teacher, and music expert. He was known for his strong beliefs in social fairness throughout his life. He loved many different things, like old medieval music, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and movie stars like Lilian Harvey and Ginger Rogers. He also enjoyed traveling, taking special 3D photos, and believed in ideas that supported all people.
Koechlin once said that artists need a "tower" not to hide from the world, but to see it clearly and be themselves. He compared this tower to a lighthouse, shining its light across the world. Some of his most famous works include Les Heures persanes, which are piano pieces inspired by a book, and the Seven Stars Symphony. This symphony has seven parts, and each part is about a different famous silent movie star from the 1930s.
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Life of Charles Koechlin, the French Composer
Charles Koechlin was born in Paris, France. He was the youngest of a large family. His mother's family came from a region called Alsace, and he felt a strong connection to that area. His grandfather was a kind person who helped many people and owned a textile factory. Charles inherited his strong sense of caring for others.
When Charles was 14, his father passed away. Even though he loved music from a young age, his family wanted him to become an engineer. He started studying at a famous engineering school in 1887. However, the next year, he got sick with tuberculosis, a lung illness, and had to rest for six months in Algeria. He had to repeat his first year at the engineering school and didn't get very good grades.
After some disagreement with his family, and taking private lessons, he finally entered the Conservatoire de Paris, a famous music school, in 1890. There, he studied harmony, composition, and music history. His teachers included famous composers like Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. He also studied alongside other talented students like Maurice Ravel. Fauré had a big impact on Koechlin, who later wrote the first book about Fauré's life.
Koechlin's Career and Family Life
After finishing his studies, Koechlin became a composer and teacher who worked for himself. In 1903, he married Suzanne Pierrard, and they had five children. He also started writing music reviews for a newspaper in 1909. In 1910, he helped create a group called the Société musicale indépendante with Maurice Ravel. This group supported new and independent music. Later, he became a strong supporter and president of the French section of the International Society for Contemporary Music, which promoted modern music.
At first, Koechlin was quite well-off. He split his time between Paris and his country homes. But after World War I started, his financial situation became harder. He had to sell one of his houses and began working more as a lecturer and teacher in 1915. Even though he always supported younger composers and new music styles, he never got a permanent teaching job at a big institution like the Paris Conservatoire. However, from 1935 to 1939, he taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris.
Travels and Later Life
Koechlin visited the United States four times to give talks and teach. During his visits in 1928 and 1929, he taught at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1929, one of his orchestral pieces won a prize at the Hollywood Bowl, a famous outdoor music venue. Even so, Koechlin often had to pay for his own music to be performed.
In the 1940s, the music department of Belgian Radio started to support his work. They broadcast several first performances of his important pieces, including the complete Jungle Book music cycle.
Charles Koechlin passed away at the age of 83 at his country home in Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer. He is buried there. In 1940, the French government offered him a high honor called the Legion of Honour, but he chose to refuse it.
Charles Koechlin's Music Style and Compositions
Koechlin wrote an enormous amount of music. He got his ideas from many different places, like nature, the mysterious East, French folk songs, the music of Bach, ancient Greek culture, space, and even Hollywood movies. His music combined many different techniques, but his unique sound always stood out.
Early in his career, he focused on songs with orchestral music, but few were performed during his lifetime. These early works showed his unique style, which was like "impressionism" in music, but different from other composers like Claude Debussy. After World War I, he continued to write large orchestral pieces, even though smaller groups and different styles were more popular. This might have made it harder for his music to be performed and accepted.
Famous Works and Inspirations
His compositions include four orchestral pieces and three songs based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. He also wrote many other orchestral pieces, including Le Buisson Ardent and Le Docteur Fabricius. He composed three string quartets and five symphonies. One of these is the Seven Stars Symphony, which was inspired by Hollywood film stars.
Koechlin also wrote sonatas for many different instruments like flute, oboe, clarinet, and violin, along with lots of other chamber music (music for small groups of instruments). He wrote over two hundred songs and many educational pieces. However, a lot of his music has never been published.
Musical Techniques and Instruments
Koechlin used many different styles in his music. Sometimes he wrote in a strict, old-fashioned style called "Baroque counterpoint," like in the beginning of his Second Symphony. Other times, his music sounded more "impressionistic," like in his piece Au Loin. He could switch from very simple to very complex music, even within the same piece.
He was interested in the music of Arnold Schoenberg and even wrote about it. Koechlin also used a modern technique called "twelve-tone technique" in a playful way in his Jungle Book piece Les Bandar-Log. He was fascinated by movies and wrote many "imaginary" film scores. He dedicated works to the actress Lilian Harvey, and his Seven Stars Symphony has movements inspired by stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Charlie Chaplin. He even wrote a piece called Epitaph for Jean Harlow and dances for Ginger Rogers.
Koechlin liked to use unusual instruments, such as the saxophone and an early electronic instrument called the Ondes Martenot. One part of his Second Symphony even needs four Ondes Martenots! He also wrote pieces for the hunting-horn, an instrument he played himself. Besides his own music, Koechlin also arranged pieces by other composers for orchestra, including music by Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, and Cole Porter.
Koechlin as a Teacher and Author
Koechlin started helping his teacher, Fauré, with teaching music theory even when he was still a student in the 1890s. Although he taught privately and was an examiner for the Paris Conservatoire, he never had a permanent, paid teaching job.
Some famous composers who studied with him include Francis Poulenc and Cole Porter. Even Darius Milhaud, another well-known composer, felt he learned a lot from Koechlin, even though he wasn't a direct student.
Koechlin wrote three very detailed textbooks: one on Harmony (how notes fit together), one on Music theory (the rules of music), and a huge book on orchestration (how to write music for an orchestra). His book on orchestration is considered a classic and uses examples from many French composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
Debussy himself chose Koechlin to finish the orchestration of his ballet Khamma, which Koechlin completed in 1913. Koechlin also wrote other smaller teaching books and the biography of Fauré.
Charles Koechlin's Character
Even though he wasn't famous in the way some other composers were, Koechlin was a well-loved and respected figure in French music. His long, flowing beard gave him a wise, father-like appearance.
After his illness in 1888, he worked to build up his strength and became a big fan of mountaineering, swimming, and tennis. He also loved looking at the stars and was a skilled photographer. He was a "nature-mystic" among French composers, meaning he felt a deep spiritual connection to nature. He believed that God was present in all things in nature.
Although he was never a member of the French Communist Party, he agreed with their ideas, especially in the late 1930s. He was very interested in the idea of creating "Music for the People," meaning music that everyone could enjoy, not just a select few.
Selected List of Works
Symphonies
- Symphony No. 1, Op. 57bis (1926)
- The Seven Stars Symphony, Op. 132 (1933)
- Symphony No. 2, Op. 196 (1943–44)
Symphonic Poems
- La Forêt, Op. 25 (1897–1906)
- La Course de printemps, Op. 95 (1908–25) (part of the Jungle Book Cycle)
- Les Bandar-log, Op. 176 (1939–40) (part of the Jungle Book Cycle)
- Le Buisson ardent, Opp. 203 (1945) & 171 (1938)
Other Orchestral Works
- Au loin, Op. 20 No. 2 (1896–1900)
- L’Automne, symphonic suite, Op. 30 (1896–1906)
- Offrande musicale sur le nom de BACH, Op. 187 (1942–46)
Solo Instrument and Orchestra
- Ballade for piano and orchestra, Op. 50 (1911–19)
- Poème for horn and orchestra, Op. 70 bis (1927)
Chamber Music
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 51 (1911–13)
- Sonata, flute and piano, Op. 52 (1913)
- Sonata, oboe and piano, Op. 58 (1911–16)
- Sonata, horn and piano, Op. 70 (1918–25)
- Épitaphe de Jean Harlow for flute, alto saxophone and piano, Op. 164 (1937)
- Septet for wind instruments, Op. 165 (1937)
Instrumental Music
- 5 Sonatines for piano, Op. 59 (1915–16)
- Les Heures persanes, 16 pieces for piano, Op. 65 (1913–19)
- Danses pour Ginger Rogers for piano, Op. 163 (1937)
- Les Chants de Nectaire, 96 pieces for flute solo, Opp. 198, 199 & 200 (1944)
Choral Works
- L’Abbaye, Suite religieuse for singers, chorus and orchestra, Opp. 16 & 42 (1908)
- Requiem des pauvres bougres for chorus, orchestra, piano, organ and Ondes Martenot, Op. 161 (1936–37)
Songs
- Rondels, Set I, Op. 1 (1890–95)
- 5 Chansons de Bilitis, Op. 39 (1898–1908)
- 7 Chansons pour Gladys, Op. 151 (1935)
Biography
- Robert Orledge, Charles Koechlin (1867–1950): His Life and Works, London, Psychology Press, 1989.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Koechlin para niños
- Koechlin family
