Alfred Denis Cortot (26 September 1877 – 15 June 1962) was a Franco-Swiss
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
and
conductorConducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.-Nomenclature:...
. He is one of the most popular 20th century musicians, especially renowned for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of
ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music....
and
SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic...
.
Born in
NyonNyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north of Geneva's downtown, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of Nyon....
in the French-speaking part of
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
to a French father and a Swiss mother, Cortot studied at the
Paris ConservatoireThe Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795 in Paris, France that offers instruction in music, dance, and drama, drawing on the traditions of the "French School." In 1946 it was split into two "Conservatoires," one for acting, theatre and drama, known as the...
with Émile Descombes (an associate of Chopin) (as did
Maurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer of Impressionist music known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
), and with
Louis DiémerLouis-Joseph Diémer was a French pianist and composer.- Life :Diémer studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning premiers prix in piano, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and solfège, and a second prix in organ...
, taking a
premier prix in 1896.
Alfred Denis Cortot (26 September 1877 – 15 June 1962) was a Franco-Swiss
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
and
conductorConducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.-Nomenclature:...
. He is one of the most popular 20th century musicians, especially renowned for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of
ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music....
and
SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic...
.
Early life and education
Born in
NyonNyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north of Geneva's downtown, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of Nyon....
in the French-speaking part of
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
to a French father and a Swiss mother, Cortot studied at the
Paris ConservatoireThe Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795 in Paris, France that offers instruction in music, dance, and drama, drawing on the traditions of the "French School." In 1946 it was split into two "Conservatoires," one for acting, theatre and drama, known as the...
with Émile Descombes (an associate of Chopin) (as did
Maurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer of Impressionist music known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
), and with
Louis DiémerLouis-Joseph Diémer was a French pianist and composer.- Life :Diémer studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning premiers prix in piano, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and solfège, and a second prix in organ...
, taking a
premier prix in 1896. He made his debut at the Concerts Colonne in 1897, playing
BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most acclaimed and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, of the Electorate of Cologne and...
's
Piano Concerto No. 3The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted...
. Between 1898 and 1901 he was a choral coach and subsequently an assistant conductor at the
Bayreuth FestivalThe Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. In 1902 he conducted the Paris premiere of
Götterdämmerungis the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas entitled Der Ring des Nibelungen . It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring....
by
WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
. He formed a concert society to perform
WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
's
ParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
,
BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most acclaimed and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, of the Electorate of Cologne and...
's
Missa solemnisThe Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123 was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819-1823. It was first performed on April 7, 1824 in St. Petersburg, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Galitzin; an incomplete performance was given in Vienna on 7 May 1824, when the Kyrie,...
,
BrahmsJohannes Brahms , German composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
'
German Requiem, and new works by French composers.
Career
In 1905, Cortot formed a trio with
Jacques ThibaudJacques Thibaud was a French violinist.Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the conservatory's violin prize with Pierre Monteux...
and
Pablo CasalsPau Casals i Defilló , best known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and later conductor...
, which established itself as the leading
piano trioA piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
of its era, and probably of any era. From 1907 to 1923 Cortot taught at the
Paris ConservatoireThe Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795 in Paris, France that offers instruction in music, dance, and drama, drawing on the traditions of the "French School." In 1946 it was split into two "Conservatoires," one for acting, theatre and drama, known as the...
, where his pupils included
Clara HaskilClara Haskil was a Jewish Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire....
,
Yvonne LefébureYvonne Lefébure was a French pianist.Born in Ermont, she studied with Alfred Cortot at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in piano and numerous other subjects. She soon appeared with the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux and the Orchestre des Concerts Colonne and in recital. She...
,
Dinu LipattiDinu Lipatti was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from Hodgkin's disease at age 33.-Biography:...
,
Vlado Perlemuter-Biography:Vlado Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family in Kovno, Russia . At the age of three, he lost the use of his left eye in an accident....
, and even
Marguerite MonnotMarguerite Monnot was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf and for the music in the stage musical Irma La Douce....
, French composer of most of the best songs of
Édith PiafÉdith Piaf, born Édith Giovanna Gassion , was a French singer and cultural icon who "is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer." Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
and of the 1956 stage musical
Irma la DouceIrma la Douce is a 1963 comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder-Plot:The film version of Irma la Douce tells the story of Nestor Patou , an honest policeman who finds a street full of prostitutes in Paris and reports them...
. In 1919 he founded the
École Normale de Musique de ParisThe École Normale de Musique de Paris is an educational institution providing training for classical music in Paris, France...
. His courses in musical interpretation were legendary. Extremely widely traveled as a pianist, he also appeared as guest conductor of many orchestras. He died in
LausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva , and facing Évian-les-Bains and with the Jura mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located some northeast of Geneva. It is the capital of the canton of Vaud and of the district of...
, Switzerland.
World War II
Controversially, he supported the German occupation of France during the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the
Vichy regimeVichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944. This government, which succeeded the Third Republic, officially called itself the French State , in contrast with the previous designation, "French Republic." Marshal...
that ruled part of the country during that period. He was even a member of the
Conseil national ("National Council"), a non-elective consultative body of the Vichy government which included a number of former members of the French parliament and non-political celebrities. Cortot played in Nazi-sponsored concerts in Germany itself, and served as Vichy's High Commissioner of the Fine Arts. His Vichy connections led to him being declared
persona non grataPersona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person," is a term used in diplomacy with a specialized and legally defined meaning...
after the Liberation.
The motives for his wartime activities have been disputed: they may have arisen from nothing more than his lifelong championship of Teutonic musical culture. Moreover his wife, Clothilde Breal, daughter of the linguist Michel Breal, was of Jewish origin and Clothilde Breal's cousin, Lise Bloch, was married to
Léon BlumAndré Léon Blum was a French politician, usually identified with the moderate left, and three times the Prime Minister of France.-Childhood and education:...
, the first Jew to become President du Conseil or Prime Minister in France. Cortot and the Blums maintained a close friendship. At any rate, he was banned from performing publicly for a year and his public image in France suffered greatly (though he continued to be well received as a recitalist in other countries, notably Italy and England).
Contribution
As one of the most celebrated piano interpreters of
ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music....
and
SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic...
, Cortot made editions of both those composers' music which were notable for his own meticulous commentary on technical problems and matters of interpretation. He had famous memory lapses in concert (particularly notable from the 1940s onwards, when non-musical matters were very much on his mind) and occasionally left wrong notes on his records. Such finger slips are in stark contrast to the technically flawless performances of his celebrated student,
Dinu LipattiDinu Lipatti was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from Hodgkin's disease at age 33.-Biography:...
. However, when Cortot was in form, which more often than not he was, he showed a brilliant technique which could handle almost any kind of pianistic firework. This gift is evident in his legendary recordings of
LisztFranz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher....
's
Sonata in B minorThe Piano Sonata in B minor , S.178, is a musical composition for solo piano by Franz Liszt.- Background :The Sonata was composed in 1852-1853, and first performed on January 27, 1857 in Berlin by Liszt's pupil and son-in-law, Hans von Bülow...
and
Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist, known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, Samson and Delilah, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and his Symphony No...
'
Etude en Forme de Valse.
Cortot also wrote a good deal of didactic prose, including a piano primer:
Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique. This book contains many finger exercises to aid in the development of various aspects of piano playing technique. It was originally written in French but has long since been translated into other languages.
Technical flaws notwithstanding, Cortot was among the very greatest musicians of the century, and represented the end of an era. He is considered the last exponent of a personal, subjective style that deprecated precise technique in favour of intuition, interpretation and authentic spirit. This approach was replaced by the modern "scientific" way of playing, which places logic and precision at the forefront and equates authenticity with metronomic and literal "interpretations". Cortot's recordings and musical annotations have seldom been out of print.
In his early years (approx. 1920–1930) Cortot recorded a number of piano rolls for the Aeolian/
Duo-ArtDuo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company introduced in 1913 too and Welte-Mignon in 1905...
company, since 78rpm discs were not always satisfactory in quality or maximum duration of the recording. Once he performed a Liszt Rhapsody weaving his own playing live at the piano with its mechanical reproduction. With eyes closed some critics could not distinguish between the two. In later years Cortot of course switched to disc technology; and he recorded right up to 1957, only five years before his death. By then he made errors even more often, but retained his specially eloquent phrasing and the free, romantic performing manner for which he was famous.
Recordings