Henri Dutilleux facts for kids
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Henri Dutilleux (born January 22, 1916 – died May 22, 2013) was a famous French composer. He created music mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His works, though not many, were loved around the world. He followed the style of great composers like Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, but he also had his own special sound.
Some of his most famous pieces include a piano sonata, two symphonies, and concertos for cello (A whole distant world) and violin (The tree of dreams). His string quartet Thus the night and a sonatine for flute and piano are also well-known. Many of these are seen as masterpieces of 20th-century classical music. Famous musicians like Mstislav Rostropovich and Isaac Stern asked him to write music for them.
A writer for The New York Times, Paul Griffiths, said that Dutilleux had a very unique place in French music. He wasn't much influenced by other big composers of his time. His music was known for its beautiful harmonies and rich sounds.
Dutilleux won many important awards during his life. These included the Prix de Rome in 1938, the Grand-Croix de la Légion d'honneur in 2004, and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2005. He also received the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2008.
Besides composing, he worked as the Head of Music Production for Radio France for 18 years. He also taught music at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire de Paris. He was a guest composer at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, twice.
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Life of Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France, on January 22, 1916. He came from a family of artists. His great-grandfather was the painter Constant Dutilleux, and his grandfather was the composer Julien Koszul.
He first studied music at the Douai Conservatory. There, he learned about harmony, counterpoint, and piano. Later, from 1933 to 1938, he went to the Conservatoire de Paris. He studied with famous teachers like Jean and Noël Gallon and Henri Büsser.
In 1938, Dutilleux won the Prix de Rome for his cantata L'anneau du roi. This award usually meant studying in Rome, but he couldn't finish his time there because World War II started. He worked as a medical helper in the army. In 1940, he returned to Paris and worked as a pianist and music teacher. In 1942, he led the choir of the Paris Opera.
From 1945 to 1963, Dutilleux was the Head of Music Production for Radio France. He also taught composition at the École Normale de Musique de Paris from 1961 to 1970. In 1970, he joined the staff of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. He was a composer-in-residence at Tanglewood in 1995 and 1998. Some of his students became famous composers themselves, like Gérard Grisey.
Dutilleux had a studio on Île Saint-Louis in Paris for many years. He passed away on May 22, 2013, at the age of 97. He was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery with his wife, Geneviève, who died in 2009. His tombstone simply says "Compositeur" (Composer).
Musical Style and Influences
Dutilleux's music built on the styles of French composers like Debussy and Ravel. But he was also clearly influenced by Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. He loved Beethoven's late string quartets and Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande.
He was interested in new music ideas like serialism, which uses a specific order of notes. However, he didn't strictly follow its rules. He believed in creating his own unique sound. He said, "What I reject is the dogma and the authoritarianism which manifested themselves in that period." Dutilleux didn't want to be part of any specific musical group or "school."
Dutilleux's music sometimes had hints of jazz. You can hear this in the plucked double bass strings at the start of his First Symphony. He also often used syncopated rhythms, which are rhythms that play off the main beat, like in jazz. He even used special "cup mutes" for brass instruments, which are common in big band music. He loved vocalists, especially jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.
His music is known for its very detailed and beautiful orchestral sounds. It often has complex rhythms. He preferred using modes and sounds that weren't always based on a clear key. He also used "reverse variation," where a musical idea is slowly revealed, appearing in its full form only after you've heard parts of it. His music also has a strong sense of balance and structure.
Dutilleux was inspired by art and literature, such as the works of Vincent van Gogh, Charles Baudelaire, and Marcel Proust. His music often explored ideas of time and memory. He sometimes included short musical quotes from other composers like Bartók.
He was a perfectionist and very careful about his work. He only allowed a small number of his pieces to be published. He often went back and changed his published works many times. He once said, "I always doubt my work. I always have regrets. That's why I revise my work so much and, at the same time, I regret not being more prolific."
Important Compositions
Dutilleux considered his Piano Sonata (1946–1948) to be his first important work. He wrote it for the pianist Geneviève Joy, whom he married in 1946. He didn't think his earlier works were good enough to represent his mature style.
After the Piano Sonata, Dutilleux composed his First Symphony (1951). This symphony has four movements, which are like different parts of a song. It starts quietly, builds to a fast part, keeps its energy, and then slowly fades away.
In 1953, Dutilleux wrote the music for a ballet called Le loup ("The Wolf").
His Second Symphony, called Le double (1959), is special because the orchestra is split into two groups. A small group plays at the front, and a bigger group plays at the back. They play together, sometimes mirroring each other, sometimes contrasting.
His next major work was Métaboles for orchestra (1965). This piece explores the idea of change. It shows how small, gradual changes can completely transform a musical idea. Different sections of the orchestra take turns leading the music. This piece became very famous after its first performance and is one of his most played works.
In the 1960s, Dutilleux met Mstislav Rostropovich, a famous cellist. Rostropovich asked him to write a cello concerto. Dutilleux composed Tout un monde lointain… (A whole distant world...), which Rostropovich first performed in 1970. It is considered one of Dutilleux's greatest achievements.
After the cello concerto, Dutilleux wrote a string quartet called Ainsi la nuit (1976). This piece has seven movements, some connected by short "parentheses" that bring back old ideas or introduce new ones. It's a complex and detailed work.
Dutilleux also wrote several pieces for piano, like 3 Préludes. He also composed 3 strophes sur le nom de Sacher (1976–1982) for solo cello. This piece used the letters of the name "Sacher" translated into musical notes.
In 1978, he returned to orchestral works with Timbres, espace, mouvement ou la nuit etoilée. This piece was inspired by Van Gogh's painting The Starry Night. Dutilleux tried to show the contrast between stillness and movement in the painting through music. It uses only lower string instruments like cellos and basses.
In 1985, Isaac Stern performed the first show of L'arbre des songes (The Tree of Dreams), a violin concerto Dutilleux wrote for him. The composer said the piece grows "somewhat like a tree," with musical ideas constantly growing and renewing.
Later works by Dutilleux include Mystère de l'instant (1989) and The Shadows of Time (1997), which includes children's voices. In 2002, he wrote Sur le même accord for violin and orchestra, dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter. In 2003, he finished Correspondances, a song cycle for a female singer and orchestra, inspired by poems and letters. This work was very popular.
Dutilleux's last major work was the song cycle Le temps l'horloge, written for American singer Renée Fleming. It has four songs and an instrumental part, based on poems by different writers. The full work was first performed in Paris in 2009.
He often wished to write more chamber music, like another string quartet. He also thought about composing an opera but never found a story he liked enough.
Works
Dutilleux didn't want most of his early works (before 1948) to be published. However, some of them, like the Sonatine for Flute and Piano, are still played and recorded today.
Orchestral Music
- Symphony No. 1 (1951)
- Symphony No. 2 Le double (1959)
- Métaboles (1964)
- Timbres, espace, mouvement (1978)
- Mystère de l'instant (1989)
- The Shadows of Time, for three children's voices and orchestra (1997)
Concertos (Music for Solo Instrument and Orchestra)
- Cello Concerto – Tout un monde lointain… [A whole distant world] (1970)
- Violin Concerto – L'arbre des songes [The Tree of Dreams] (1985)
- Nocturne for violin and orchestra Sur le même accord [On just one chord] (2002)
Chamber and Instrumental Music
- String Quartet – Ainsi la nuit [Thus the night] (1976)
- Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher [Three stanzas on the name Sacher] for solo cello (1976–1982)
- Les citations for oboe, harpsichord, double bass and percussion (1985/1991/2010)
Piano Music
- Piano Sonata (1947–48)
- Résonances (1965)
- Figures de résonances (1970) for two pianos
- Trois Préludes (1973–1988)
Vocal Music
- Chansons de bord, for three children's voices (1952)
- Correspondances, for soprano and orchestra (2003)
- Le temps l'horloge, for soprano and orchestra (2007–2009)
Ballet Music
- Le loup (1953)
Early Works (Before 1948)
Dutilleux didn't want most of his music written before his Piano Sonata (1948) to be widely known. However, some pieces from this time are still performed.
Chamber and Instrumental Music (Early)
- Sarabande et cortège for bassoon and piano (1942)
- Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1943)
- Oboe Sonata (1947)
- Choral, cadence et fugato for trombone and piano (1950)
Vocal Music (Early)
- Cantata L'anneau du roi [The King's Ring] (1938)
- Quatre mélodies [Four Melodies] for voice and piano (1943)
Piano Music (Early)
- Au gré des ondes, 6 petites pièces pour piano (1946) [Along the waves]
Legacy and Tributes
After Dutilleux passed away, many musicians praised his work. Composer and conductor Laurent Petitgirard said Dutilleux was one of the few modern composers whose music became famous during his lifetime. He believed Dutilleux's music would continue to be important.
Many famous musicians, including Isaac Stern, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Simon Rattle, helped make Dutilleux's music known.
Conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen said that Dutilleux's music was "perfect – very haunting, very beautiful." He felt there was a touching sadness in his music.
A critic for the BBC, Tom Service, wrote that Dutilleux's beautiful collection of pieces is becoming more and more popular with performers and listeners worldwide.
An obituary in Gramophone magazine said that Dutilleux connected musicians from the 19th century to his own time. His music was seen as a direct continuation of the styles of Debussy and Ravel.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper noted that because Dutilleux was a perfectionist, he didn't publish many works. He often revised what he had written. While his early music sounded like Ravel and Debussy, his later music was truly original.
Dutilleux himself once told a BBC Radio 3 presenter that his personal favorite among his own works was Tout un monde lointain…, his cello concerto.
Awards and Prizes
- Grand Prix de Rome (for his cantata L'Anneau du Roi) – 1938
- UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers (for Symphony No. 1) – 1955
- Grand Prix National de Musique (for all his works) – 1967
- Praemium Imperiale (Japan – for all his works) – 1994
- Grand-Croix de la Légion d'honneur – 2004
- Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (for all his works) – 2005
- Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society – 2008
- Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music – 2011
Honours
Monaco : Commander of the Order of Saint-Charles (1998)
France : Grand'Croix of the Légion d'honneur (2003)
See also
In Spanish: Henri Dutilleux para niños
