France Clidat
Encyclopedia
France Clidat is a French
pianist
renowned for her interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt
, a great many of which she has recorded, and Erik Satie
, whose complete piano works she recorded.
In 1948, at age 15, France Clidat played Henri Sauguet
's Concerto in A minor in Geneva under the conductor Ernest Ansermet
. She studied at the Paris Conservatory
with Lazare Lévy
, Maurice Hewitt, Alexis Roland-Manuel
, Norbert Dufourcq, and Robert Siohan and received first prize in piano in 1950, at the age of 18. She later studied with Emil Gilels
and Lelia Gousseau.
At the Budapest International Competition in September 1956, she won the Franz Liszt Prize, a prize that had not been awarded since 1937. She has since performed in many venues around the world. After a recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Bernard Gavoty, reviewer for Le Figaro
, dubbed her "Madame Liszt". She has also been called "the Ambassadress of the French piano" and she has been named alongside Monique Haas
, Cécile Ousset
, Robert Casadesus
and Philippe Entremont
as outstanding representatives of the French piano school.
In the 1960s and 1970s, for Les Editions Vega, she recorded the following works of Franz Liszt
for Decca:
This project included a number of premiere recordings of Liszt's works (Mephisto Waltzes Nos. 3 and 4, Valse oubliée No. 3, Mephisto Polka, Mazurka brillante, two Caprices-Valses, two Csardas, Scherzo and March, Marche solonelle in honour of Goethe, Galop in A minor and two Albumblatter) and it gained her the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros and the Grand Prix de l'Académie Européenne du Disque. It is still claimed in various places that she recorded the "complete piano works of Liszt" and "Liszt's complete pianistic output", but this can be shown not to be the case when her Liszt recordings (24 LPs, which were later transferred to 28 CDs) are compared with the 99 Liszt CDs recorded by Leslie Howard
, which included over 300 premiere recordings. Since 1980, she has recorded for Forlane.
France Clidat has recorded the complete piano works of Erik Satie
, and works by Rachmaninoff
, Grieg
, Chopin
, Tchaikovsky
and Marcel Landowski
.
She has taught at the École Normale de Musique
in Paris for a number of years, where she has attracted many students from around the world. She also gives masterclasses in various countries, particularly Japan
.
France Clidat has appeared as a juror at many important piano competitions, including the International Franz Liszt Competition, the 3rd International Rhodes Competition, and the Francis Poulenc
Competition.
She has published articles about Liszt's solo piano music, such as "The Transcendental Studies: A Lisztian Pianist's Impressions" in New Light on Liszt and His Music (Walker, Saffle, Deaville) and "Aux sources littéraires de Franz Liszt", with Jeanne Fauré-Cousin, an entire double issue of La Révue musicale.
Many works have been dedicated to France Clidat and Bruno Rossignol has written an Aria et Fugato sur le Nom de France Clidat.
Her playing of the Adagio from Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
, was featured in the 2000 film Maelström
.
She is also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
and has received the Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
renowned for her interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, a great many of which she has recorded, and Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
, whose complete piano works she recorded.
In 1948, at age 15, France Clidat played Henri Sauguet
Henri Sauguet
Henri Sauguet , was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux as Henri-Pierre Poupard, he adopted his mother's maiden name as his pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies , concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music...
's Concerto in A minor in Geneva under the conductor Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet was a Swiss conductor.- Biography :Ansermet was born in Vevey, Switzerland. Although he was a contemporary of Wilhelm Furtwängler and Otto Klemperer, Ansermet represents in most ways a very different tradition and approach from those two musicians. Originally he was a...
. She studied at the Paris Conservatory
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
with Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy was an influential French pianist, organist, composer and pedgogue. As a virtuoso pianist he toured throughout Europe, in North Africa, Israel, the Soviet Union and Japan...
, Maurice Hewitt, Alexis Roland-Manuel
Alexis Roland-Manuel
Alexis Roland-Manuel was a French composer and critic, though he is remembered mainly for his work in the latter area.-Biography:...
, Norbert Dufourcq, and Robert Siohan and received first prize in piano in 1950, at the age of 18. She later studied with Emil Gilels
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...
and Lelia Gousseau.
At the Budapest International Competition in September 1956, she won the Franz Liszt Prize, a prize that had not been awarded since 1937. She has since performed in many venues around the world. After a recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Bernard Gavoty, reviewer for Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, dubbed her "Madame Liszt". She has also been called "the Ambassadress of the French piano" and she has been named alongside Monique Haas
Monique Haas
Monique Haas was a French pianist.Born in Paris, she studied at the Conservatoire there with Joseph Morpain and Lazare Lévy, taking a Premier Prix in 1927. She went on to study with Rudolf Serkin and Robert Casadesus. She was married to the French-Romanian composer Marcel Mihalovici...
, Cécile Ousset
Cécile Ousset
Cécile Ousset is a French pianist.Cécile Ousset was born in Tarbes, France, and gave her first recital at the age of five, subsequently studying at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 10 with Marcel Ciampi where, aged only fourteen, she was awarded first prize in the piano graduation class of...
, Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a famous musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus.-Biography:Robert Casadesus was born in Paris...
and Philippe Entremont
Philippe Entremont
Philippe Entremont is a French pianist and conductor. He has made many recordings during his career, notably one in 1961 of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic....
as outstanding representatives of the French piano school.
In the 1960s and 1970s, for Les Editions Vega, she recorded the following works of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
for Decca:
- Original works in the field of programme music (Années de Pélerinage, Legends etc.)
- Works of purely folkloristic character (the Hungarian Rhapsodies and pieces generally in the form of dances, waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises, etc.)
- Studies or exercises (various collections of the Transcendental Études)
- Original works in the field of pure music (the Sonata, ballads, nocturnes, etc.)
- Transcriptions or paraphrases from operas or lieder.
This project included a number of premiere recordings of Liszt's works (Mephisto Waltzes Nos. 3 and 4, Valse oubliée No. 3, Mephisto Polka, Mazurka brillante, two Caprices-Valses, two Csardas, Scherzo and March, Marche solonelle in honour of Goethe, Galop in A minor and two Albumblatter) and it gained her the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros and the Grand Prix de l'Académie Européenne du Disque. It is still claimed in various places that she recorded the "complete piano works of Liszt" and "Liszt's complete pianistic output", but this can be shown not to be the case when her Liszt recordings (24 LPs, which were later transferred to 28 CDs) are compared with the 99 Liszt CDs recorded by Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (musician)
Leslie Howard AM is an Australian pianist and composer. He is best known for being the only pianist to have recorded the complete solo piano works of Franz Liszt, a project which included more than 300 premiere recordings...
, which included over 300 premiere recordings. Since 1980, she has recorded for Forlane.
France Clidat has recorded the complete piano works of Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
, and works by Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
, Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
and Marcel Landowski
Marcel Landowski
Marcel François Paul Landowski was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator.Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and great-grandson of the composer Henri Vieuxtemps.As an infant he showed early musical promise, and studied piano...
.
She has taught at the École Normale de Musique
École Normale de Musique de Paris
The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...
in Paris for a number of years, where she has attracted many students from around the world. She also gives masterclasses in various countries, particularly Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
France Clidat has appeared as a juror at many important piano competitions, including the International Franz Liszt Competition, the 3rd International Rhodes Competition, and the Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
Competition.
She has published articles about Liszt's solo piano music, such as "The Transcendental Studies: A Lisztian Pianist's Impressions" in New Light on Liszt and His Music (Walker, Saffle, Deaville) and "Aux sources littéraires de Franz Liszt", with Jeanne Fauré-Cousin, an entire double issue of La Révue musicale.
Many works have been dedicated to France Clidat and Bruno Rossignol has written an Aria et Fugato sur le Nom de France Clidat.
Her playing of the Adagio from Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Piano Concerto (Grieg)
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.-Structure :The concerto is in three movements:...
, was featured in the 2000 film Maelström
Maelström (film)
Maelström is a 2000 Canadian film by Québécois writer-director Denis Villeneuve. It stars Marie-Josée Croze as a depressed, alcoholic woman who becomes romantically involved with the son of a man she believes to have killed in a hit and run accident....
.
Honours
She was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1976 and a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite in 1987.She is also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and has received the Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris.