Paul Paray

French conductor, organist and composer (1886–1979)
Paul Paray

Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray (French: [pɔl paʁɛ]) (24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979[not verified in body]) was a French conductor, organist and composer. He was the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1963.[1]

Early life and education

Paul Paray was born in Le Tréport, Normandy, on 10 October 1886.[citation needed] His father, Auguste, a sculptor, organist at St. Jacques church, and leader of an amateur musical society, put young Paray in the society's orchestra as a drummer.[citation needed] Later, Paray went to Rouen to study music with the abbots Bourgeois and Bourdon, and organ with Haelling, which prepared him to enter the Paris Conservatoire.[when?][citation needed]

Career

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In 1911, Paray won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Yanitza. Deprived of paper while a prisoner of war during World War I, Paray composed his string quartet in E minor, and the piano suite D'une âme..., both in his head, only writing them down from memory after the war. Once the war was over, Paray was invited to conduct the orchestra of the Casino de Cauterets in the Pyrenees, which included players from the Lamoureux Orchestra. Casino de Cauterets was a springboard for him to conduct orchestras in Paris.[clarification needed][when?]

Paray would later serve as music director of the Monte Carlo Orchestra.[when?] In 1922, Paray composed music for the Ida Rubinstein ballet Artémis troublée. That year he and the Spanish violinist Manuel Quiroga premiered his Violin Sonata. In 1931, he wrote the Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc, which was premiered at the cathedral in Rouen to commemorate the quincentenary of Joan of Arc's martyr death. Paray became president of the Concerts Colonne, and in 1935, he wrote his Symphony No. 1 in C major, which premiered there. Paray made his American debut with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra in 1939. He composed his Symphony No. 2 in A major in 1941.[where?]

In 1952, Paray was appointed music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, going on to conduct them in numerous recordings for the Mercury Records' "Living Presence" series. Paray left Detroit in 1963.

Paray returned to France and maintained a healthy international guest-conducting career. He was in his tenth decade when he made his last conducting appearance in the United States, leading the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. A report in Musical America noted:[full citation needed] "Now ninety-two, Paray brings to the podium not only a reputation as one of the great conductors of our time, but strength, energy, and a solid technique that have not diminished through the years."[This quote needs a citation]

Awards and recognition

He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.[2][full citation needed] The government of France awarded him its highest honor, the Grand-Croix de la Légion d'honneur, in 1975.[citation needed]

Personal life

Paray heeded the call to arms and joined the French Army in World War I.[citation needed] In 1914, he was taken prisoner of war and held in Darmstadt camp.[citation needed][notes 1]

Paray married Yolande Falck in Cassis, France, on 25 August 1942.[citation needed] He died in Monte Carlo in 1979, aged 93.[citation needed]

Selected works

Sketch for Artémis troublée by Léon Bakst
Stage
Orchestral
Concertante
Chamber music
Piano
  1. Nostalgie
  2. Eclaircie
  3. Primesaut
  1. Avec esprit et charme
  2. Ardemment
  3. En rêvant
  4. Avec fougue
  5. Souple
  6. Léger
  7. Tender
  8. Energique
Vocal
  1. Infidélité
  2. La Dernière feuille
  3. Serment
  1. Après l'orage
  2. Adieux
  3. Après le bal
  4. Dèsir de mort
Choral

Notes

  1. ^ Western Michigan University maintains a collection of images that include pictures of the prison camp at Darmstedt.[3]

References

  1. ^ Orenstein, Arbie (2003). Ravel, Maurice (ed.). A Ravel Reader. Courier Dover Publications. p. 580.[verification needed]
  2. ^ Delta Omicron Archived 2010-01-27 at the Wayback Machine[full citation needed]
  3. ^ "General View of the Prison Camp at Darmstadt". First World War Central Power Pow Camps. First World War Central Powers POW camps. January 1915. Retrieved 24 May 2018.

External links

Further reading


Cultural offices
Preceded by Principal Conductors, Lamoureux Orchestra[citation needed]
1923–1928 		Succeeded by
Albert Wolff
Preceded by
none
 Music Directors, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra[citation needed]
1949–1950 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Karl Krueger
 Music Directors, Detroit Symphony Orchestra[citation needed]
1951–1962 		Succeeded by
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