André Marcel Charles Casanova (12 October 1919 – 7 March 2009) was a French composer. He was an early disciple of

René Leibowitz René Leibowitz (; ; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish and French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after the Second Wo ...

, a teacher and composer who maintained a strict adherence to the

dodecaphonic The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

musical theories of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

. Casanova later abandoned most of them in favour of a more classical style of composition. His published works, composed between 1944 and 1993, include orchestral, chamber and choral music, operas and songs.

Life and career

Casanova was born in Paris, and studied law there, while at the same time studying music with Georges Dandelot at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The school was founded in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot and Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (English: no ...

. In 1944, he became the first French pupil of

,Bosseur, Jean-Yve
"Casanova, André"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001, retrieved 10 May 2018 with whom he studied theory and composition. Leibowitz introduced him to dodecaphonic and serial composition. Together with other Leibowitz pupils,

Serge Nigg Serge Nigg (6 June 1924 – 12 November 2008) was a French composer, born in Paris. Biography After initial studies with Ginette Martenot, Nigg entered the Paris Conservatory in 1941 and studied harmony with Olivier Messiaen and counterpoint wi ...

Antoine Duhamel Antoine Duhamel (30 July 1925 – 11 September 2014) was a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher. Life and career Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel was one of the three sons of the Fren ...

and

Jean Prodromidès Jean Prodromidès (3 July 1927 – 17 March 2016) was a French composer. He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1927 in a musical family. His father, who was of Greek origin, had a pianola by which Jean became familiar with works of Beethoven and Wagn ...

, he gave the first performance of Leibowitz's ''Explications des Metaphors'', Op. 15, in Paris in 1948.Martini, p. 443 Thereafter, according to the ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', Casanova's concern was "to ally a romantic spirit with modernity of style". in the mid-1950s he abandoned

dodecaphony The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

, although he retained some of its

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...

elements for harmonic purposes. After his avant-garde period, Casanova returned to what Grove calls "a more classical conception of both style and form". In 1959, his Concertino, for piano and chamber orchestra, was performed as a French contribution at the 33rd annual music festival of the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

. In 1960, he received an award from the Queen Marie José Music Foundation for his ''Cavalier seul'', a chamber

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

(later revised for voice and string orchestra), dedicated to

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

. In the late 1940s, there had been some hostility between adherents of Leibowitz and those of the teacher and composer

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

, but so far as Casanova was concerned, any breach had healed sufficiently during the 1950s for Messiaen's partner

Yvonne Loriod Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod. Biography Loriod ...

to play the solo part at the premiere of Casanova's piano concertino in 1959. He developed an interest in German Romantic literature and with

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

's philosophy, which is reflected in his work. His Third Symphony (''Dithyrambes'', 1964) has a vocal part, with words by Nietzsche, taken from '' Dionysos-Dithyramben'' set in the original German. In his later years, Casanova lived at

Louveciennes Louveciennes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles (city), V ...

on the fringe of Paris, where he died on 7 March 2009, at the age of 89.

Works

Orchestral works

*Symphony No 1, 1949 *Symphony No 2, Op. 7, 1952 rev 1959 *Concertino for piano and chamber orchestra, Op. 8, 1952 rev 1958 and 1962 *Ballade for clarinet and chamber orchestra, Op. 9, 1955 *''Notturno'' for orchestra, Op. 13 ("In memoriam

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

"), 1959 *Capriccio for oboe and strings, Op. 16, 1960 *''Anamorphoses'' for orchestra, Op. 17 (dedicated to the memory of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

), 1962 *Impromptus for orchestra, 1963 *Suite for strings, 1964 *Symphony No 3 ''Dithyrambes'', with tenor solo, 1964 *Concerto for violin and orchestra, 1963 (Dedicated to

Gerd Albrecht Gerd Albrecht (19 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a German conductor. Biography Albrecht was born in Essen, the son of the musicologist Hans Albrecht (1902–1961). He studied music in Kiel and in Hamburg, where his teachers included Wilhel ...

) *Suite for string orchestra, 1965 *Concerto for trumpet and string orchestra, 1966 *''Strophes'' for orchestra Op 33, 1968 *Prelude, Op. 34 for string orchestra, 1968 *Fantaisie for French horn, string orchestra and marimbaphone, 1968 *Concerto for oboe harp brass and percussion, 1968 *Musique concertante for cor anglais and orchestra, 1969 *''Alternances'', Op. 41, 1971 *Concerto for organ and orchestra, 1972 *Recitatifs for orchestra Op 48, 1973 *Guitar Concerto, 1973 *''Épisodes pour cordes avec violon principal'', Op. 47, 1974 *Partita pour ensemble orchestral, Op. 65, 1979 *Piano Concerto, 1981 *Violin Concerto, 1982 *''Métaphonie'', 1982 *''Ein Musikalisches Opfer'', Op. 70 ("À la mémoire d'

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

"), 1971 *Ephemeris. op. 81 ("À la mémoire d'

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...

"), 1989 *Symphony No 4, 1992 *Symphony No 5, 1993

Chamber

*3 pieces for piano, 1944 *Trio for flute, viola and horn/bass clarinet, 1946 *Duo for clarinet and bassoon, 1950 *4 Bagatelles for wind quintet, 1955 *Elégie for piano trio, 1956 *Humoresque for flute and clarinet, 1957 *Trio for strings, 1966 *Serenata for flute and ensemble, Op. 26, 1966 *String Quartet No 1, Op. 27, 1967 *4 Intermezzi for piano, Op. 28, 1967 *3 momenti for brass quintet, Op. 37, 1968 *Quintet for piano and winds, Op. 39, 1970 *Trio for piano-violin-cello, Op.43, 1972 *5 Little Pieces for cello, Op.45, 1972 *Due canzoni for alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, organ and bass guitar, Op. 49, 1973 *Sextet for clarinet, string quartet and double bass, Op. 63, 1983 *Septet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass, Op. 72, 1985 *String Quartet No 2, 1985 *String Quartet No 3, Op. 73, 1985 *Piccolo studio for bassoon and piano, 1986 *Six évocations for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Op. 76, 1987 *Quintet for strings, 1988 *Sonata for violin and piano, 1988 *String Quartet No 4, 1990 *String Quartet No 5, 1991 *String Quartet No 6, 1992

Choral and song

*3 mélodies, for soprano and piano, 1945 *Divertimento, Op 10, 1953 *''Cavalier seul'' for baritone and string quartet, 1959 (arr for baritone and string orchestra, 1964) *''Redoutes'' for baritone and orchestra, 1962 *''Le livre de la foi jurée'', after ''La chanson de Roland'', for speaker, soprano, bariton and orchestra, 1964 *''Le chant d'Aude'' for soprano and string orchestra, 1965 *''Règnes'', for soprano and orchestra, Op. 29, "In memoriam Jean Cocteau", 1967 *3 poèmes de Rilke for chorus, 1968 *5 mélodies for tenor and chamber orchestra, 1968 *3 sonnets de Louise Labé, for soprano and piano, 1972 *''Rituels'', Op.46, for baritone and ensemble, 1972 *''Deux fragments d'Algabal de Stefan George'' for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, bassoon, vibraphone and cello, Op. 52, 1973 *''Sur les chemins d'acanthes noires'', cantata for reciter, baritone, male choir, and orchestraon solo choeur d'hommes et orchestre, Op. 55, 1974 *''Quatre dizains de la Délie de Scève'', Op. 61, 1978 *''Esquisses pour une tragédie'', Op. 64, 1979 *''Deutsche Gesänge'', 1980

Stage works

*''La clé d'argent'', conte lyrique, in one act. Text by Jean Moal after Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, 1965 *''Le livre de la foi juree'', geste lyrique, 1965 *''Le bonheur dans le crime'', opera in a prologue and three acts. Text by Bernard George after the novel by Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, 1969 *''La coupe d'or'', opera in one act. Text by Jean Moal after Ludwig Tieck, 1970 *''Notturno'', ballet, 1972

Notes and sources

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova, Andre 1919 births 2009 deaths Composers from Paris École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni French opera composers French male opera composers 20th-century French male musicians