Alain Marion (25 December 1938 – 16 August 1998) was a French

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, and considered one of the world's best

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

players of the late twentieth century.

Biography

Marion was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on Christmas Day 1938. He studied at the Marseille Conservatoire under renowned flutist

Joseph Rampal Joseph Rampal (12 September 1898 – 12 January 1983) was a prominent and distinguished French flutist and flute teacher, and the father of the internationally-renowned soloist Jean-Pierre Rampal. Graduate of the French Flute School Born in P ...

, and gained the award ''premier prix de flûte'' when he was only 14. He later studied with

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. Rampal popularised the flute in the post–World War II years, recovering flute compositions from the Baroque era, and spurring contemporary composers, ...

(son of Joseph) at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

(where he eventually became a professor), and gained fame after winning a prize at the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

. In 1964, the French national broadcaster

Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (; RTF; "French Radio and Television Broadcasting") was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...

appointed Marion as first flutist, and later to the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

. In 1972 he became a soloist for the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...

. He joined the chamber orchestra Ensemble InterContemporain in 1977, working with

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

. He taught every summer at the Académie internationale d'été de Nice, becoming director in 1986. His stature was able to attract some of the world's best musicians to the organisation as teachers, including

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

and

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Bolesław Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish- Mexican violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname ...

. Marion played a gold flute, made by the

Sankyo Flute Company Sankyo Flute Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in Sayama, Japan, produces handmade flutes, piccolos and head joints at the professional level. A number of prominent flautists, such as Walter Auer of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Julien Beaudiment ...

of Japan, and encompassed a wide variety of different musical styles. However he expressed a special admiration for the great

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

flutist-composers, as well as for the Czech composer

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

. Marion died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while on tour in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea, aged 59.

References

External links

Photographs of Alain Marion
at the Académie Internationale d'Eté in Nice, 1968, 1970 & 1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Alain 1938 births 1998 deaths French classical flautists Musicians from Marseille 20th-century French classical musicians 20th-century French flautists Players of the Orchestre de Paris