Germaine Tailleferre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Germaine Tailleferre
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Germaine Tailleferre and Mario Hacquard
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| Born |
Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse
19 April 1892 Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France
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| Died | 7 November 1983 (aged 91) Paris, France
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| Spouse(s) |
Ralph Barton
(m. 1926; div. 1927)Jean Lageat
(m. 1932; div. 1955) |
| Children | 1 |
Germaine Tailleferre (born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 1892 – 7 November 1983) was a French composer. She was the only female member of a famous group of composers called Les Six.
Contents
Her Early Life and Musical Journey
Germaine Tailleferre was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France. When she was young, she changed her last name. Her father did not want her to study music. So, she changed "Taillefesse" to "Tailleferre" to show her independence.
Germaine started learning piano at home with her mother. She even wrote her own short musical pieces. Later, she went to the Paris Conservatory. This is a famous music school. There, she met other young composers. These included Louis Durey, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric, and Arthur Honegger.
At the Conservatory, Germaine was very talented. She won many awards for her skills. She also wrote 18 short pieces for the harp. These were for a harp teacher at the school.
Becoming Part of "Les Six"
Germaine soon became friends with other artists in Paris. She spent time in areas like Montmartre and Montparnasse. These places were full of creative people. It was in a painter's studio that the idea for Les Six began.
A writer named Jean Cocteau published a special book. Then, a music critic named Henri Collet wrote articles about the group. This made Les Six famous very quickly. Germaine was the only girl in this group of six composers.
Music and Life in the 1920s
In 1923, Germaine spent a lot of time with the famous composer Maurice Ravel. He lived in Montfort-l'Amaury. Ravel encouraged her to enter a big music competition called the Prix de Rome.
In 1926, she married Ralph Barton. He was an American artist who drew funny pictures. She moved to Manhattan, New York. She lived in the United States for about a year. Then, she and her husband moved back to France. They later separated.
Germaine wrote many important pieces in the 1920s. These included her First Piano Concerto and the Harp Concertino. She also wrote ballets like Le marchand d'oiseaux. This ballet was very popular. Another ballet, La nouvelle Cythère, was asked for by Sergei Diaghilev. He led the famous Ballets Russes dance company. She also wrote music for early films. One film, B'anda, used African music styles.
New Music and Family in the 1930s
In 1931, Germaine had her only child, a daughter named Françoise. Françoise's father was a lawyer named Jean Lageat. Germaine and Jean married a year later. They later separated in 1955.
The 1930s were a very busy time for Germaine. She wrote a Concerto for Two Pianos. She also composed a Violin Concerto. She created parts of an opera cycle called Du style galant au style méchant. Other operas included Zoulaïna and Le marin de Bolivar. Her major work from this time was La cantate de Narcisse. She worked on this with the poet Paul Valéry. She also continued to write music for films and documentaries.
War, Return, and More Masterpieces
When World War II started, Germaine had to leave her home in France. She left most of her music scores behind. She escaped through Spain and Portugal. Then, she took a boat to the United States. She lived in Philadelphia during the war years.
After the war, in 1946, she returned to France. She wrote many different kinds of music. This included music for orchestra and chamber music (music for small groups of instruments). She also wrote more ballets, like Paris-Magie. She composed operas such as Il était un petit navire and La petite sirène. This last opera was based on "The Little Mermaid" story by Hans Christian Andersen. She even wrote a musical comedy called Parfums.
Germaine also created more concertos. These included a Concerto for Soprano and Orchestra and her Second Piano Concerto. She wrote a Sonata for Harp and many film and television scores. Much of this music was not published until after she passed away.
Her Final Years and Lasting Music
In 1976, Germaine took a job at a private school in Paris. She was an accompanist for a children's music class. In her later years, she had problems with arthritis in her hands. This made it harder to play and write complex music. So, she focused on shorter pieces.
Even with arthritis, she wrote important works. These included the Sonate champêtre for woodwind instruments and piano. She also wrote a Sonata for Two Pianos and songs for children. Her last major work was the Concerto de la fidelité. This was performed at the Paris Opera a year before she died.
Germaine Tailleferre kept composing music until just a few weeks before her death. She passed away on 7 November 1983 in Paris. She is buried in Quincy-Voisins, France.
See also
In Spanish: Germaine Tailleferre para niños
