Conductor, Composer, Organist. In his time he was a dedicated champion of new French music. As director of the famed Concerts Colonne from 1908 to 1934, he helped popularize works by Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, and the group "Les Six". He was also associated with the Ballet Russes and conducted the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird" (1910). Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz, France, into a musical family. He was a brilliant student at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied composition with Jules Massenet and organ with Cesar Franck, and won the prestigious Prix de Rome for his cantata "Edith" (1882). From 1890 to 1898 he was Franck's personally chosen successor as organist of Sainte Clotilde in Paris. He joined the Concerts Colonne as an assistant conductor in 1903. In contrast to his adventurous career on the podium, Pierné's own compositions were in the conservative late French Romantic tradition, with just enough imagination to keep them from lapsing into the academic. The best of them are his Piano Concerto in C minor (1886), the oratorio "The Children's Crusade" (1905), and the piano miniature "March of the Little Lead Soldiers". His other opuses include eight operas (none very successful), songs and a good deal of chamber music. Pierné's selfless encouragement of young musicians won him enormous respect in his country. He was elected to the Academy des Beaux-Arts in 1924 and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Shortly before his retirement he made several recordings with the Colonne Orchestra for the Columbia label. A square in Paris is named for him.
Conductor, Composer, Organist. In his time he was a dedicated champion of new French music. As director of the famed Concerts Colonne from 1908 to 1934, he helped popularize works by Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, and the group "Les Six". He was also associated with the Ballet Russes and conducted the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird" (1910). Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz, France, into a musical family. He was a brilliant student at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied composition with Jules Massenet and organ with Cesar Franck, and won the prestigious Prix de Rome for his cantata "Edith" (1882). From 1890 to 1898 he was Franck's personally chosen successor as organist of Sainte Clotilde in Paris. He joined the Concerts Colonne as an assistant conductor in 1903. In contrast to his adventurous career on the podium, Pierné's own compositions were in the conservative late French Romantic tradition, with just enough imagination to keep them from lapsing into the academic. The best of them are his Piano Concerto in C minor (1886), the oratorio "The Children's Crusade" (1905), and the piano miniature "March of the Little Lead Soldiers". His other opuses include eight operas (none very successful), songs and a good deal of chamber music. Pierné's selfless encouragement of young musicians won him enormous respect in his country. He was elected to the Academy des Beaux-Arts in 1924 and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Shortly before his retirement he made several recordings with the Colonne Orchestra for the Columbia label. A square in Paris is named for him.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Inscription
Gabriel Pierné / compositeur de musique - membre de l’Institut / Commandeur de la Légion d’honneur / 16 août 1683 - 17 juillet 1937
Advertisement
