Henry-Louis de La Grange facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henry-Louis de La Grange
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Henry-Louis de La Grange in August 2010
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| Born | 26 May 1924 Paris, France
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| Died | 27 January 2017 (aged 92) Lonay, Switzerland
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| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Musicologist, biographer |
| Parent(s) | Amaury de la Grange Emily Sloane |
Henry-Louis de La Grange (born May 26, 1924 – died January 27, 2017) was a French expert in music. He was known for studying music history (a musicologist) and writing detailed life stories (a biographer), especially about the famous composer Gustav Mahler.
Contents
About Henry-Louis de La Grange
Henry-Louis de La Grange was born in Paris, France. His mother, Emily Sloane, was American, and his father, Amaury de la Grange, was French. His father was a senator and a government minister.
Henry-Louis studied many subjects in Paris and New York. He also went to universities in Aix-en-Provence and at the Sorbonne. He loved music and studied piano with Yvonne Lefébure. He also learned about harmony and how music is put together from Nadia Boulanger, a very famous music teacher.
Starting a Career in Music
In 1952, Henry-Louis de La Grange began writing about music. He wrote for many newspapers and magazines in the United States, like the New York Herald Tribune and The New York Times. He also wrote for French magazines.
Discovering Gustav Mahler
A big moment in his life was on December 20, 1945. He went to a concert in New York and heard Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony. He didn't know much about Mahler then, as Mahler wasn't as famous as he is today. Henry-Louis was surprised by how long the music was and its unique style. This made him very curious.
From the early 1950s, he started to learn everything he could about Mahler's music and life. He even met Mahler's wife, Alma Mahler, in 1952 and became good friends with her daughter, Anna. He also talked to other people who knew Mahler.
Henry-Louis traveled a lot, doing research in Europe and North America. He collected many documents, letters, and other materials about Mahler. This collection became one of the largest archives about Mahler and his time. Later, in 1986, these documents became part of a special music library called the Médiathèque Musicale Mahler.
Writing Mahler's Biography
Henry-Louis de La Grange spent many years writing a huge biography about Gustav Mahler. The first part of this book was published in English in 1973. It was so good that it won an award called the Deems Taylor Award.
He then published a revised French version in 1979, which grew into a three-volume series. These books were very long, about 3600 pages in total! This massive work won several awards in France. Later, an updated and even bigger English version was published by Oxford University Press, eventually reaching four volumes. The last volume was finished after his death by his helper, Sybille Werner.
Sharing His Knowledge
Henry-Louis de La Grange loved to share what he knew about Mahler. He gave lectures all over the world, visiting countries like the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. He spoke at many famous universities, including Stanford University and Columbia University.
He also helped organize music festivals, like "Les Nuits d'Alziprato" in Corsica and the Mahler Festival in Toblach, Italy. He appeared on radio and television shows, talking about Mahler's life and music. He even helped create a big exhibition about Mahler in Paris in 1985, which was very popular.
He continued to be an important advisor for Mahler concerts and organized special meetings (symposiums) where experts discussed Mahler's music. He was one of the first European music experts to give lectures about Mahler in Beijing, China.
Henry-Louis de La Grange passed away on January 27, 2017, in Lonay, Switzerland.
Awards and Recognition
Henry-Louis de La Grange received many honors for his work:
- He was given the title of Professor by the Austrian government in 1988.
- In 1997, a special collection of essays about Mahler was published in his honor.
- He received the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters from Bard College in 2002.
- He was made an Officer of the Légion d'honneur in France in 2006, which is a very high award.
- He received the Gold Medal from the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna in 2010.
- He was given an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2010.
Selected Books and Writings
Henry-Louis de La Grange wrote many important books and articles, mostly about Gustav Mahler. His main work was the multi-volume biography of Mahler, published in both French and English.
- Mahler, Volume I (1860–1901), published in New York (1973) and London (1974).
- Gustav Mahler (in French, three volumes):
- Volume 1: The Paths to Glory (1860–1899) (1979).
- Volume 2: The Golden Age of Vienna (1900–1907) (1983).
- Volume 3: The Struck Genius (1907–1911) (1984).
- Gustav Mahler (in English, a revised and expanded four-volume edition):
- Volume 1: The Arduous Road to Vienna (1860–1897) (2020).
- Volume 2: Vienna: The Years of Challenge (1897–1904) (1995).
- Volume 3: Vienna: Triumph and Disillusion (1904–1907) (2000).
- Volume 4: A New Life Cut Short (1907–1911) (2008).
- He also wrote books about the musical history of Vienna and edited Mahler's letters, including Gustav Mahler: Letters to his Wife.
Besides books, he wrote many articles for music magazines like Diapason and newspapers like Le Monde. He also wrote notes for music albums (called liner notes) for many recordings of Mahler's symphonies and other composers.
See also
In Spanish: Henry-Louis de La Grange para niños
