Biography Lucien Durosoir

1 biography

1.1 concert violinist
1.2 soldier
1.3 composer
1.4 music

biography
the concert violinist

at age of 14, lucien durosoir enrolled in conservatoire supérieur de paris, studied henri berthelier; however, after several months expelled insolence toward director, ambroise thomas. durosoir continued violin studies privately berthelier while @ same time learning composition charles tournemire. in 1898, edouard colonne engaged him first chair violinist orchestra of concerts colonne. went germany, perfected technique , interpretive skill under violinists joseph joachim , hugo heermann. starting in 1900, undertook concert tours extending central europe, russia, germany, , austro-hungarian empire. there played, first time, violin repertory of contemporary french composers such saint-saëns, lalo, widor , bruneau, , in vienna in 1910, premiered sonata in major violin , piano gabriel fauré. while on tour in france premiered modern german , danish masterpieces:

niels gade s violin concerto in d minor, op. 56 @ salle pleyel in 1899
richard strauss s violin concerto in d minor, op.8

his performances met favorable reviews:

captivates public loftiness , spirit of playing (neue freie press, 11 january 1910)
of these pieces performed same nobility , beauty of execution (wiener mittags-zeitung, 28 january 1910)
displayed, in concerto of max bruch, rarest qualities of sonority , musicality, , in dvořák concerto astonishing style , virtuosity... monsieur lucien durosoir, in lovely performance, ranks among foremost virtuosos of time. (le figaro, 19 may 1904)

[reference: les archives biographiques contemporaines (paris, sd. [vers 1911]), p. 219-220. posters , concert programs durosoir family archives, bélus, france]

the soldier

november 1903 concert program @ berlin sing-akademie.

when world war broke out, durosoir 36. after year fighting in trenches, became stretcher-bearer , awaited nightfall before venturing out collect wounded. durosoir came attention of general mangin, great music lover, recruited him, along composer andré caplet , young cellist maurice maréchal, form chamber music ensemble. trio played funeral services, guests (such visiting english officers and, more rarely, civilians) in general s quarters, , in barracks soldiers’ entertainment. concerts featured kinds of arrangements of orchestral works piano , solo instruments. during time duties of durosoir , caplet included caring carrier pigeons.

the 3 spent these terrible years together, , friendship sealed in trenches in music-making. inspiration compose increasingly seized durosoir s imagination. acquired scores , studied style of brahms, beethoven, haydn, , others. in 1915 emma debussy sent him claude debussy s Études. durosoir , caplet examining these when 6 bombs fell around building. thinking ahead end of war, durosoir wrote on 12 september 1916, begin compose become accustomed managing freer forms, , efforts, convinced, fruitful. during periods of repose duties in trenches, continued study of counterpoint , fugue exercises corrected andré caplet.

[reference: deux musiciens dans la grande guerre (paris, tallandier-radio france, 2005; mangin (général), lettres de guerre, 1914-1918 (paris, fayard, 1950)]

the composer

durosoir returned civilian life in february 1919. in 1921, boston symphony orchestra offered him position of first chair violin. accepted, , on point of leaving when accident prevented departure, , had give career violinist. until death, lived in retirement far paris , artistic circles. on basis of academic work, reinforced personal study of scores , compositional exercises, began composing, , crafted individual , bold musical style independent mainstream. works display neither perceptible influences nor overtly stated references. of works headed quotation of contemporary poetry, or prose quotation of philosophical nature.

andré caplet wrote him in 1922: speak enthusiasm associates of quartet, find many times more interesting products group of flashy newcomers overwhelm us. lucien durosoir composed around forty unpublished works, including pieces varied ensembles, symphonic works , chamber music: string quartets, sonatas, trios, short piano works, numerous pieces piano , solo instruments. after 1950, illness prevented him composing, , died in december 1955.

the music

as result of intentional isolation parisian musical trends of time, durosoir s compositions have unique character. while not outwardly programmatic, preceded verses of poetry serve threshold highly personal world of expression. style lean , spare 1 marked solid construction, sudden contrasts , avoidance of gratuitous ornament. tonal harmonic palette enriched non-chord tones , altered scales, music shows strong need resolution veers off toward regions of atonality. similarly, constraints imposed regular meter cast off means of frequent metric changes , tempo alterations. durosoir shows great imagination in area of musical texture , use of extended performance techniques (con sordino, sul ponticello, col legno, ricochet, harmonics), , consequently expressive indications encountered in each melodic line. in short, music of lucien durosoir avoids categorization many of ism labels (i.e.: impressionism, neoclassicism) commonly applied music of twentieth century.