Paul Doguereau
Encyclopedia
Paul René Doguereau was a French pianist
and piano teacher. He spent most of his career in Boston
, United States
, where he was a well-respected cultural figure.
at the Paris Conservatory, Doguereau said that he learned very little from her. As is often the case with famous teachers with too little time and too many students, the young pianist was relegated to the hands of an assistant for most of the time. The Paris Conservatory conferred its highest award, the Premier Prix, upon Doguereau at age 15. During his time at Conservatory, Doguereau met Jean Roger-Ducasse
.
According to Doguereau's adopted son, the pianist, author, and musicologist Harrison Slater
:
Doguereau told his pupil, the pianist David Korevaar, that he had learned much about playing Fauré
's works from Roger-Ducasse. Slater told Korevaar that Doguereau played all of Debussy's piano works besides the etudes for the composer's widow, singer Emma Bardac
(1862–1934). She demonstrated how her husband had performed the works by singing phrases back to Doguereau.
Later, Doguereau took ten lessons with Ignaz Paderewski in New York.
in 1928 in New York during Ravel's American tour. Doguereau had been working at the time for Duo-Art
, a recording technology developed by the Aeolian Company
. Duo-Art had invited Ravel to New York to record piano rolls ("Vallée des cloches" is the only one with sure dates from those sessions). According to Korevaar, Doguereau subsequently accompanied Ravel on part of the tour that followed, spending long hours together on the train discussing Ravel's piano music.
According to Slater:
They remained friends, and Doguereau spoke to Korevaar of visiting Ravel at his home in Montfort, France in later years. There is a photo of Ravel inscribed to Doguereau in the living room of his Boston home.
in 1935. Also in the 1930s, supported by a number of Boston patronesses, he studied in Europe with Emil von Sauer
and Egon Petri
. According to Slater, "Petri was the greatest influence on Paul's technique and teaching."
Doguereau lived in Boston for over sixty years. He met Fanny Peabody Mason in 1937 and it proved to be a meeting that would have an impact on the Boston music scene for decades to come. After her death, Doguereau continued her musical tradition by using the trust left to him to establish the Peabody-Mason Music Foundation, which presented concert performances in Boston for 35 years. On a few occasions Doguereau himself accompanied other artists in their performance. Doguereau's performance legacy lives on in his students, including Earl Wild
, Peter Orth, David Korevaar, Sergey Schepkin, Andrew Rangell, Harrison Slater
, Robert Swan, Stephen Porter and Robert Taub
.
The earliest recording found by David Korevaar was a piano roll of the Danse Russe from Petrouchka on Ampico
. In 1948, the small Boston label Technichord released an album of Fauré songs featuring Doguereau with two sopranos, Isabel French and Olympia di Napoli. Doguereau also recorded Daniel Pinkham
's Concertino, a work that Pinkham wrote for him in 1950.
In addition, Doguereau recorded solo repertoire for Technichord that was never released – perhaps the recordings were not up to his exacting standards. Dr. David Korevaar, a former student of Doguereau, was able to study the solo material held by the Library of Congress
. The recordings include performances of Ravel's Sonatine
(although missing the second part of the first movement), Fauré's Third Barcarolle, and Bach's Chromatic Fantasie.
After hearing the recordings, Korevaar commented:
Korevaar found these recorded tempi to be even faster than the indications given by Doguereau when Korevaar studied the work with him, although the high pitch of the transfer may be partly the cause. The recording of Fauré's Barcarolle has some rubati in the opening. This caught David Korevaar's attention because he studied the work with Doguereau and remembered his demonstrating in this style.
which Doguereau directed for 35 years bringing the best talent to Boston audiences, at the best venues, with no admission charge. Rudolph Elie of the Boston Herald
hailed the Peabody Mason Concerts, "...of which Paul Doguereau, is at once one of the finest pianists in residence in the city and a musician of great discernment and sensibility, is the guiding spirit." Doguereau was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and frequently organized performances at the Academy.
Doguereau also organized the early Peabody Mason Piano Competitions
, where he served as President and Artistic Director. The piano competition was inspired by Miss Mason's commitment to, and aspirations for, the arts and serves to showcase and encourage emerging piano talent. The first competition was held in 1981, with others following in 1984 and 1985. The grand prize winner received a yearly stipend plus a New York
and a Boston
recital. The competition's rich heritage, its intermittent nature, and its generous prize have led to a significant reputation and cachet for the award.
A resident of Boston, Doguereau maintained a home in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
, and lived there at the time of his death with his adopted son Harrison James Wignall
.
Pianist
A 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.-Choice of genres:...
and piano teacher. He spent most of his career in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he was a well-respected cultural figure.
Education
Although he officially studied with Marguerite LongMarguerite Long
Marguerite Long was a French pianist and teacher.Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long was born in Nîmes. She studied with Henri Fissot at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in 1891, and privately with Antoine François Marmontel...
at the Paris Conservatory, Doguereau said that he learned very little from her. As is often the case with famous teachers with too little time and too many students, the young pianist was relegated to the hands of an assistant for most of the time. The Paris Conservatory conferred its highest award, the Premier Prix, upon Doguereau at age 15. During his time at Conservatory, Doguereau met Jean Roger-Ducasse
Jean Roger-Ducasse
Jean Jules Amable Roger-Ducasse was a French composer.-Biography:Jean Roger-Ducasse studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Emile Pessard and André Gedalge, and was the star pupil and close friend of Gabriel Fauré...
.
According to Doguereau's adopted son, the pianist, author, and musicologist Harrison Slater
Harrison Slater
Harrison Gradwell Slater is an American writer, pianist, and educator.A pianist, he studied with Anthony di Bonaventura and for many years with Paul Doguereau, the noted French pianist who was a pupil of Ravel, Emma Bardac and Paderewski...
:
Doguereau told his pupil, the pianist David Korevaar, that he had learned much about playing Fauré
Faure
Faure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
's works from Roger-Ducasse. Slater told Korevaar that Doguereau played all of Debussy's piano works besides the etudes for the composer's widow, singer Emma Bardac
Emma Bardac
Emma Bardac , née Moyse, was the mutual love interest of both Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy. Of Jewish descent, Emma married, aged 17, Parisian banker Sigismond Bardac, by whom she had two children, Raoul, and Hélène . Emma was an accomplished singer and brilliant conversationalist...
(1862–1934). She demonstrated how her husband had performed the works by singing phrases back to Doguereau.
Later, Doguereau took ten lessons with Ignaz Paderewski in New York.
Professional life
Doguereau met Maurice RavelMaurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
in 1928 in New York during Ravel's American tour. Doguereau had been working at the time for Duo-Art
Duo-Art
Duo-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. These technologies flourished at that time because of the poor quality of the early Phonograph...
, a recording technology developed by the Aeolian Company
Aeolian Company
The Æolian Company was a manufacturer of player organs and pianos.- History :It was founded by New York City piano maker William B. Tremaine as the Æolian Organ & Music Co. to make automatic organs, and, after 1895, as the Æolian Co. automatic pianos as well. The Æolian Company was a...
. Duo-Art had invited Ravel to New York to record piano rolls ("Vallée des cloches" is the only one with sure dates from those sessions). According to Korevaar, Doguereau subsequently accompanied Ravel on part of the tour that followed, spending long hours together on the train discussing Ravel's piano music.
According to Slater:
They remained friends, and Doguereau spoke to Korevaar of visiting Ravel at his home in Montfort, France in later years. There is a photo of Ravel inscribed to Doguereau in the living room of his Boston home.
Performance
Doguereau performed in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. He organized concerts, including one by Stravinsky, in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1935. Also in the 1930s, supported by a number of Boston patronesses, he studied in Europe with Emil von Sauer
Emil von Sauer
Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer was a notable German composer, pianist, score editor, and music teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation...
and Egon Petri
Egon Petri
Egon Petri was a classical pianist.-Biography:Petri's family was Dutch and he was born a Dutch citizen, but he was born in Hanover in Germany and was brought up in Dresden. His father was a professional violinist who taught his son that instrument. Petri played in the Dresden Court Orchestra and...
. According to Slater, "Petri was the greatest influence on Paul's technique and teaching."
Doguereau lived in Boston for over sixty years. He met Fanny Peabody Mason in 1937 and it proved to be a meeting that would have an impact on the Boston music scene for decades to come. After her death, Doguereau continued her musical tradition by using the trust left to him to establish the Peabody-Mason Music Foundation, which presented concert performances in Boston for 35 years. On a few occasions Doguereau himself accompanied other artists in their performance. Doguereau's performance legacy lives on in his students, including Earl Wild
Earl Wild
Royland Earl Wild was an American pianist widely recognized as a leading virtuoso of his generation. Harold C. Schonberg called him a "super-virtuoso in the Horowitz class". He was known as well for his transcriptions of classical music and jazz...
, Peter Orth, David Korevaar, Sergey Schepkin, Andrew Rangell, Harrison Slater
Harrison Slater
Harrison Gradwell Slater is an American writer, pianist, and educator.A pianist, he studied with Anthony di Bonaventura and for many years with Paul Doguereau, the noted French pianist who was a pupil of Ravel, Emma Bardac and Paderewski...
, Robert Swan, Stephen Porter and Robert Taub
Robert Taub
Robert Taub is an American concert pianist known for his performance of contemporary classical music. He has performed and recorded many of the works of Milton Babbitt, Mel Powell, and Vincent Persichetti....
.
Recordings
Doguereau left little in the way of recorded performances. Given that he stopped performing in public in the 1950s, this is hardly surprising. He did however continue to perform privately, and in the last year of his life played the last two Chopin Ballades for friends twice at his home in Mt. Holly, New Jersey.The earliest recording found by David Korevaar was a piano roll of the Danse Russe from Petrouchka on Ampico
Ampico
American Piano Company was an American piano manufacturer located in East Rochester, New York, which was known from the beginning for the production of high quality player pianos. The company was established in 1908 under the aegis of Wm. Knabe & Co...
. In 1948, the small Boston label Technichord released an album of Fauré songs featuring Doguereau with two sopranos, Isabel French and Olympia di Napoli. Doguereau also recorded Daniel Pinkham
Daniel Pinkham
Daniel Rogers Pinkham, Jr. was an American composer, organist, and harpsichordist. Pinkham was one of America's most active composers during his lifetime...
's Concertino, a work that Pinkham wrote for him in 1950.
In addition, Doguereau recorded solo repertoire for Technichord that was never released – perhaps the recordings were not up to his exacting standards. Dr. David Korevaar, a former student of Doguereau, was able to study the solo material held by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. The recordings include performances of Ravel's Sonatine
Sonatine (Ravel)
Sonatine is a piano work written by Maurice Ravel. Although Ravel wrote in his autobiography that he wrote the Sonatine after Miroirs, it seems to have been written between 1903 and 1905...
(although missing the second part of the first movement), Fauré's Third Barcarolle, and Bach's Chromatic Fantasie.
After hearing the recordings, Korevaar commented:
Korevaar found these recorded tempi to be even faster than the indications given by Doguereau when Korevaar studied the work with him, although the high pitch of the transfer may be partly the cause. The recording of Fauré's Barcarolle has some rubati in the opening. This caught David Korevaar's attention because he studied the work with Doguereau and remembered his demonstrating in this style.
Boston concerts and competitions
Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, was until her death in 1948, an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music. Miss Mason had met Doguereau early in his career and they became lifelong friends. Mason and Doguereau shared a vision of presenting classical music as a gift to general audiences. Bringing this vision to reality, Mason was benefactress of the Peabody Mason ConcertsPeabody Mason Concerts
- Benefactor :The name Peabody Mason comes from Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, who until her death in 1948 was an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music.- Concert series premiere :...
which Doguereau directed for 35 years bringing the best talent to Boston audiences, at the best venues, with no admission charge. Rudolph Elie of the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
hailed the Peabody Mason Concerts, "...of which Paul Doguereau, is at once one of the finest pianists in residence in the city and a musician of great discernment and sensibility, is the guiding spirit." Doguereau was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, and frequently organized performances at the Academy.
Doguereau also organized the early Peabody Mason Piano Competitions
Peabody Mason International Piano Competition
- Benefactress :The name Peabody Mason comes from Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, who until her death in 1948 was an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music...
, where he served as President and Artistic Director. The piano competition was inspired by Miss Mason's commitment to, and aspirations for, the arts and serves to showcase and encourage emerging piano talent. The first competition was held in 1981, with others following in 1984 and 1985. The grand prize winner received a yearly stipend plus a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
recital. The competition's rich heritage, its intermittent nature, and its generous prize have led to a significant reputation and cachet for the award.
A resident of Boston, Doguereau maintained a home in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
, and lived there at the time of his death with his adopted son Harrison James Wignall
Harrison Slater
Harrison Gradwell Slater is an American writer, pianist, and educator.A pianist, he studied with Anthony di Bonaventura and for many years with Paul Doguereau, the noted French pianist who was a pupil of Ravel, Emma Bardac and Paderewski...
.