Arthur Honegger, Les Six

Swiss-born French Composer, Teacher, Conductor and Accompanist

© Tel Asiado

Arthur Honegger, www.karadar.com

Brief biography of French composer Arthur Honegger, a neo-classicist known for "Le Roi David" and "Pacific 231."

Arthur Honegger was a French composer, teacher, conductor and accompanist. He was a member of the famous 'Les Six' group of French composers. He is famous for dramatic psalm "Le Roi David" and steam locomotive symphony "Pacific 231" although he considers opera Antigone his masterpiece.

Beginnings

Born of Swiss Protestant parentage in Le Havre on March 10, 1892, he lived in Paris most of the time. He married Andree Vaurabourg, a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire. They had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932. He also had a son, Jean-Claude, with Claire Croiza, a singer.

Training and Education

He studied at the conservatory in Zürich from 1909 to 1911 and then to Paris Conservatoire (from 1911), where his teachers included d'Indy for orchestration and Widor for composition. Then he returned to Switzerland for military service.

Honegger and the 'Les Six' French Composers

It was in Paris that he met the other members of the famous 'Les Six' composers including Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc. The other "Les Six" members were Germaine Tailleferre, Georges Auric and Louis Durey.

'Les Six' ('The Six') group of French composers was formed in 1917 and the name 'christened' in 1920. Jean Cocteau, a leading figure in European Modernism, was a spokesman of the group, and Eric Satie its adopted guru. It is said that Honegger, however, did not join in the other members' regard for Satie. He was a great admirer of J.S. Bach.

Honegger's Major Works

Honegger visited the USA several times although Paris remained his home. In his last years, despite ill-health, he still taught at the Ecole Normale in Paris. Some of his earlier works showed a neo-Romantic style with overtones of Baroque influence from his admiration of Johann Sebastian Bach, but his music remained tonal. He considered the opera Antigone (1927) his greatest achievement.

Honegger's other Works

Trivia

It's been said that because Honegger required complete solitude to compose, he resided separately from his wife for most of their married life. Eclectic in taste, he also enjoyed jazz and composed the incidental music for Abel Gance’s silent movie classics La Roue (The Wheel, 1923) and Napoleon (1927). He died in Paris on November 27, 1955.


The copyright of the article Arthur Honegger, Les Six in Classical Composers is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Arthur Honegger, Les Six must be granted by the author in writing.


Arthur Honegger, www.karadar.com
       


Post this Article to facebook Add this Article to del.icio.us! Digg this Article furl this Article Add this Article to Reddit Add this Article to Technorati Add this Article to Newsvine Add this Article to Windows Live Add this Article to Yahoo Add this Article to StumbleUpon Add this Article to BlinkLists Add this Article to Spurl Add this Article to Google Add this Article to Ask Add this Article to Squidoo