Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)
Henri
Dutilleux is a hard-working French contemporary composer who emphasizes
quality over quantity, shuns systems of formal organization, and writes
rock-solid music tailored to the needs of specific ensembles.
Dutilleux' independence of spirit sets him apart from many of his
colleagues in France. His concern for instrumental color, spatial
relationships among instrumental groups, and heterodox sense of
spirituality maintains the French lineage of modernism that stems from
the music of Debussy through the work of Messiaen. Dutilleux is deeply
inspired by visual art, his orchestral work Timbres, espace, mouvement
(1978) being directly inspired by Vincent van Gogh's painting The Starry Night.
Dutilleux was born the grandson of organist and composer Julien Koszul,
who was onetime director of the Roubaix Conservatoire, a close friend
of Gabriel Fauré, and helped foster the career of Albert Roussel.
Dutilleux studied at the Douai Conservatoire until 1933 when he
enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire. His third Prix de Rome cantata, L'anneau de Roi,
won the Premier Prix in 1938, but the outbreak of war curtailed his
award. Dutilleux served as a stretcher-bearer, and later as a singing
coach at the French opera. It was during the war that Dutilleux began
to stake out his reputation as a composer in works such as the Sonatina for Flute and Piano
(1943) and the song Chanson
de la deportée (1945). Ever conscious of the quality of
his small work list, Dutilleux has renounced all of the pieces that
predate the Piano Sonata
(1946-1948), written for his new bride, pianist Genevieve Joy. At war's
end Dutilleux took a job as a producer for the ORTF (French public
radio) that he kept until 1963. In this capacity his unit sponsored
"radiophonic" pieces by Pierre Schaeffer, Antonín Artaud, and others.
As a composer, Dutilleux elected to stay in the background, working
hard and patiently waiting his turn. That recognition came with his Symphony No. 1
(1951), which led to interest in Dutilleux, particularly among
performers who have kept a stream of commissions coming his way since
then. Among the artists who have had works written for them by
Dutilleux are cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the Juilliard String
Quartet, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Boston Symphony Orchestra,
and Swiss conductor Paul Sacher. Many of these works, such as the
string quartet Ainsi la
nuit (1977), the orchestral pieces The Shadows of Time
(1997), and Métaboles
(1964), are already regarded as masterworks of Western literature.- Uncle Dave Lewis/AllMusic
COMPOSITIONS Dutilleux Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Dutilleux on Dutilleux
Barque d'Or, soprano and piano (1930s; pub. 1937, disowned)
L'anneau de Roi, cantata (1938, disowned) [winner of the Prix de Rome - his third try]
Quatre Mélodies, baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano (1941-42; pub. 1943, disowned)
Sonatine, flute and piano (1943, disowned)
Jehan Alain's Prière pour nous autres charnels (Prayer for us mortals), 2 male singers and organ (orch. by Dutilleux, 1944)
Chanson de la deportée, soprano and piano (1945, disowned)
Au gré des ondes (6 pieces), piano (1946, disowned)
Sonate, oboe and piano (1947, disowned)
Six Hours to Lose, film score (1947)
Clockface Cafe, film score (1947)
Sonate, piano (1946-48) [the work which Dutilleux considered his "opus 1"]
Blackbird, piano (1950) [for children]
Choral, Cadence et Fugato, trombone and piano (1950)
Symphonie No. 1, orchestra (1950-51)
Le loup (The Wolf), ballet (1953, disowned)
The Love of a Woman, film score (1953)
Deux sonnets de Jean Cassou, baritone and orchestra (or piano) (1954) [one other poem set, not published]
Symphonie No. 2, 'Le double', small orchestra (1955-59)
Tous les chemins … menent a Rome, piano (1961)
Bergerie, piano (1963)
San Francisco Night, voice and piano (1963) [text: Paul Gilson]
Métaboles, orchestra (1959-64)
Résonances, piano (1965)
Hommage à Nadia Boulanger, soprano, 3 violas, clarinet, percussion and zither (1967)
Tout un monde lointain . . . (A Whole World Distant . . .), concerto, cello and orchestra (1967-70)
D'ombre et de silence, piano (1973) [no. 1 of "Trois Préludes, 1973-88]
Figures de résonances (4 pieces), 2 pianos (1970-76)
Ainsi la nuit, string quartet (1973-76)
Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher, cello (1976; rev. 1982)
Sur un même accord, piano (1977) [no. 2 of "Trois Préludes, 1973-88]
Timbres, espace, mouvement ou la nuit étoilée, orchestra (1976-78; rev. 1990)
Petit air a domir debout, piano (1981) [for children]
L'arbre des songes (The Tree of Dreams), concerto, violin and orchestra (1979-85)
Les citations (diptych), oboe, double bass, harpsichord and percussion (1985; rev. 1990-91)
Mini prelude en eventail, piano (1987) [for children]
Under the Sun of Satan, film score (1987)
Le jeu des contraires, piano (1988) [no. 3 of "Trois Préludes, 1973-88]
Mystère de l'instant, cimbalom, percussion and string orchestra (1985-89)
The Shadows of Time, 3 children's voices and orchestra (1995-97)
Slava's Fanfare, spatial ensemble (3 piccolos, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 percussion) (1997)
Ombre & lumière: Henri Decoin, cinéaste, TV documentary score (1997)
In Search of the Papin Sisters, documentary film score (2000)
Sur le même accord, violin and orchestra (2002)
Correspondances, song cycle, soprano and orchestra (2003) [text: Mukherjee, Solzhenitsyn, Rilke, Van Gogh]
Le temps L'horloge, soprano and orchestra (2007-09)
WORKS BY GENRE Dutilleux Links ~ ~ ~ Dutilleux on Dutilleux ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Le loup (The Wolf), ballet (1953, disowned)
Orchestra
Jehan Alain's Prière pour nous autres charnels (Prayer for us mortals), 2 male singers and organ (orch. by Dutilleux, 1944)
Symphonie No. 1, orchestra (1950-51)
Symphonie No. 2, 'Le double', small orchestra (1955-59)
Métaboles, orchestra (1959-64)
Timbres, espace, mouvement ou la nuit étoilée, orchestra (1976-78; rev. 1990)
Mystère de l'instant, cimbalom, percussion and string orchestra (1985-89)
Slava's Fanfare, spatial ensemble (3 piccolos, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 percussion) (1997)
Band
Choral, Cadence et Fugato, trombone and symphonic band (1950) [arr. by Claude Pichaureau]
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Tout un monde lointain . . . (A Whole World Distant . . .), concerto, cello and orchestra (1967-70)
L'arbre des songes (The Tree of Dreams), concerto, violin and orchestra (1979-85)
Sur le même accord, violin and orchestra (2002)
Chorus w/Orchestra
L'anneau de Roi, cantata (1938, disowned) [winner of the Prix de Rome - his third try]
The Shadows of Time, 3 children's voices and orchestra (1995-97)
Chamber
Ainsi la nuit, string quartet (1973-76)
Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher, cello (1976; rev. 1982)
Les citations (diptych), oboe, double bass, harpsichord and percussion (1985; rev. 1990-91)
Slava's Fanfare, spatial ensemble (3 piccolos, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 percussion) (1997)
Solo Instrument
Sonatine, flute and piano (1943, disowned)
Sonate, oboe and piano (1947, disowned)
Choral, Cadence et Fugato, trombone and piano (1950)
Piano
Au gré des ondes (6 pieces), piano (1946, disowned)
- Prélude en berceuse
- Claquettes
- Improvisation
- mouvement perpétuel
- Hommage à Bach
- Etude
Sonate, piano (1946-48) [the work which Dutilleux considered his "opus 1"]
Blackbird, piano (1950) [for children]
Tous les chemins … menent a Rome, piano (1961)
Bergerie, piano (1963)
Résonances, piano (1965)
Figures de résonances (4 pieces), 2 pianos (1970-76)
Petit air a domir debout, piano (1981) [for children]
Mini prelude en eventail, piano (1987) [for children]
Trois Préludes, piano (1973-88)
- D'ombre et de silence, piano (1973)
- Sur un même accord, piano (1977)
- Le jeu des contraires, piano (1988)
Vocal
Barque d'Or, soprano and piano (1930s; pub. 1937, disowned)
Quatre Mélodies, baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano (1941-42; pub. 1943, disowned)
- Féerie au claire de lune [text: Raymond Genty]
- Pour une amie perdue [text: Edmond Borsent]
- Regards sur l'infini [text: Comtesse Anna de Noailles]
- Fantasio [text: André Bellesort]
Chanson de la deportée, soprano and piano (1945, disowned)
Deux sonnets de Jean Cassou, baritone and orchestra (or piano) (1954) [one other poem set, not published]
- Il n’y avait que des troncs déchirés
- Je revais que je vous portais entre mes bras
San Francisco Night, voice and piano (1963) [text: Paul Gilson]
Hommage à Nadia Boulanger, soprano, 3 violas, clarinet, percussion and zither (1967)
Correspondances, song cycle, soprano and orchestra (2003) [text: Mukherjee, Solzhenitsyn, Rilke, Van Gogh]
Le temps L'horloge, soprano and orchestra (2007-09)
Film
Six Hours to Lose, film score (1947)
Clockface Cafe, film score (1947)
The Love of a Woman, film score (1953)
Under the Sun of Satan, film score (1987)
Ombre & lumière: Henri Decoin, cinéaste, TV documentary score (1997)
In Search of the Papin Sisters, documentary film score (2000)
DUTILLEUX LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Dutilleux on Dutilleux ~ top of page ~
Barque d'or - an Early Dutilleux Song Rediscovered (Janet Obi-Keller, Cambridge Journals)
The Composer, the Choreographer and the Film Star: Henri Dutilleux's Music for Ballet (Caroline Potter, Britannica Online)
Henri Dutilleux at 85 (David Wordsworth, The Classical Source)
The Perfectionist - An Interview with French Composer Henri Dutilleux (Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian)
Portrait: L’humble fierté d’Henri Dutilleux (The Humble Pride of Henri Dutilleux) (Scenes Magazine) in English here
Books
Henri Dutilleux: Music - Mystery and Memory (Henri Dutilleux, Claude Glayman, Ashgate Pub, books.google.com)
Composer's website . . . contact Henri Dutilleux: @ Schott Music
The Henri Dutilleux Society (on Facebook)
Dutilleux @ Wikipedia
Dutilleux @ fr.Wikipedia (french)
Dutilleux @ Answers.com
Dutilleux @ Bach Cantatas
Dutilleux @ bertdekkers.nl
Dutilleux @ Biographicon
Dutilleux @ Boston Symphony Orchestra
Dutilleux @ Classic Cat
Dutilleux @ Classical Archives
Dutilleux @ Classical Composers Database
Dutilleux @ The Classical Source
Dutilleux @ The Classical Source
Dutilleux @ ClassicsToday
Dutilleux @ composition:today
Dutilleux @ Dilettante Music
Dutilleux @ Ensemble Sospeso
Dutilleux @ Facebook
Dutilleux @ FIPA (International Festival of Audiovisual Programs)
Dutilleux @ The Flying Inkpot
Dutilleux @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Dutilleux @ InstantEncore
Dutilleux @ IRCAM
Dutilleux @ Karadar Classical Music
Dutilleux @ The Kennedy Center
Dutilleux @ Living Composer Project
Dutilleux @ Los Angeles Philharmonic also here
Dutilleux @ ModernClassical
Dutilleux @ MSN MMovies
Dutilleux @ Music & Vision
Dutilleux @ musicologie.org (in French)
Dutilleux @ MusicWeb International
Dutilleux @ Naxos
Dutilleux @ The New York Times
Dutilleux @ Piano Society
Dutilleux @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Dutilleux @ San Francisco Symphony
Dutilleux @ Schott Music
Publisher
Dutilleux @ Alphonse Leduc
Dutilleux @ Éditions Durand
Dutilleux @ Schott Music
Streaming Audio
Dutilleux @ BBC 3/Discovering Music
Dutilleux @ Classical Archives
Dutilleux @ Contemporary Music
Dutilleux @ last.fm
Dutilleux @ Rhapsody
Recordings
Dutilleux @ ArkivMusic
Dutilleux @ bertdekkers.nl
Dutilleux @ ClassicsOnline
Dutilleux @ Discogs
Video
Dutilleux @ YouTube
Dutilleux @ Google Video
Dutilleux @ Vimeo
~ top of page ~
Dutilleux on Dutilleux: l'o.n.l. et l'Arbre des songes (VIDEO) [in French]
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