Jacques Castérède facts for kids

Jacques Castérède (born April 10, 1926 – died April 6, 2014) was a talented French composer and pianist. He wrote many different kinds of music, from symphonies to ballets.

Life and Music Journey

Jacques Castérède was born in Paris, France. He went to school at Lycée Buffon. After finishing high school, he studied mathematics.

In 1944, he joined the Paris Conservatory. This is a famous music school. There, he learned piano from Armand Ferté. He also studied how to compose music with Tony Aubin. He learned music analysis from Olivier Messiaen, another famous composer.

While at the Conservatory, Jacques Castérède won many awards. Between 1948 and 1953, he earned five first prizes. These were for piano, chamber music, analysis, composition, and harmony. In 1953, he won the important Grand Prix de Rome. He won it for his cantata, which is like a musical story, called La Boîte de Pandore (Pandora's Box).

The next year, he moved to Rome, Italy. He lived at the Villa Medici until 1958. This was part of his prize.

In 1960, he started teaching at the Paris Conservatory. He taught solfège, which is about music reading. Later, he became a piano studies advisor in 1966. In 1971, he began teaching music analysis.

He also taught composition at the École Normale from 1983 to 1988. From 1988 to 1998, he taught analysis there too. The Chinese government invited him to teach composition in Beijing. He became a professor at the Central Academy there.

Jacques Castérède received many awards for his music. These included the Paris Civil Award in 1991. He also won the Charles Cros Award and the Record Academy Award in 1995. His music was played in many countries. These included France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Canada.

His music often had beautiful melodies. He used special scales and interesting musical structures.

Main Works

Jacques Castérède wrote many different types of musical pieces. Here are some examples from his large collection of works.

Stage Music

He composed music for the stage, including operas and ballets.

• Chamber opera La Cour des miracles (1954)
• Oratorio Le Livre de Job (1958)
• Ballet Basketball (1959)
• Ballet But (1959)

Orchestral Music

He wrote many pieces for a full orchestra.

• Symphony No. 1 for strings (1952)
• Cinq Danses symphoniques (Five Symphonic Dances) (1956)
• Symphony No. 2 (1960)
• Promenade printaniere (Spring Walk) (1963)

Concertos

Concertos are pieces for a solo instrument with an orchestra.

• Concerto No. 1 for piano and string orchestra (1954)
• Concertino for trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, and strings (1958)
• Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra (1970)
• Concerto for guitar and orchestra (1973)

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments.

• Sonatine for trumpet and piano (1953)
• Sonata for violin and piano (1955)
• Sonata for clarinet and piano (1956)
• Sonatina for tuba and piano (1963)
• Ciels (Skies) for flute and piano (1980)
• Sonatine d'avril (April Sonatina) for flute and guitar (1985)
• Hommage aux Pink Floyd for guitar

Piano Music

He wrote many pieces just for the piano.

• Passacaille et fugue (1953)
• Quatre Études (Four Studies) (1957)
• Variations (1960)
• Sonata for piano (1967)
• Hommage à Thelonious Monk (1983)

Songs

Jacques Castérède also composed songs for voices.

• Trois Mélodies sur des poèmes de Paul Fort (Three Melodies on Poems by Paul Fort) (1951)
• La Chanson du mal-aime (The Song of the Unloved) (1960)
• Liturgies de la vie et de la mort (Liturgies of Life and Death) (1980)

See also

In Spanish: Jacques Castérède para niños