Charles Houdret (6 July 1905 – 1965) was a Canadian

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

radio producer A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions: *Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music cho ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He began his career in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and was highly active as a conductor throughout Europe during the 1940s. In 1952 he immigrated to Canada where he ultimately became a naturalized citizen. He was active as a radio producer, cellist, and conductor in Canada up through 1964, after which nothing is known about his whereabouts or activities.

Early life and career in Europe

Born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Charles Houdret was trained at the

Royal Conservatory of Liège The Royal Conservatory of Liège (RCL) () is a historic conservatory in Liège, Belgium. It is one of four conservatories in the French Community of Belgium that offers higher education courses in music and theatre. Located at 29 Piercot Forgeu ...

where he was a pupil of

Sylvain Dupuis Joseph Michel Sylvain Dupuis (; 9 October 1856 – 28 September 1931) was a Belgian conducting, conductor, composer, oboist, and music educator. Life Born in Liège, Dupuis was trained at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. After graduating in ...

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

. He also studied in Paris with

André Hekking André Hekking (20 July 186614 December 1925) was a French cellist. Born in Bordeaux, he studied with Charles Auguste de Bériot, touring Spain at fifteen. In 1909, he settled in Paris to become a teacher of the cello, having in the meantime gai ...

(cello), in Vienna with

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

(conducting), and in Brussels with

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Early years Born in Liège, Ysaÿe began ...

(

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

). Through Ysaÿe he was introduced to

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I ...

and

Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until h ...

. Impressed with Houdret, the two monarchs appointed him to the post of director of the royal chapel orchestra. With this ensemble, he notably conducted

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

'' Symphony No. 5 in B flat major'' in a 1942 recording on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

music label. He spent the 1940s conducting this orchestra and others in concerts throughout Europe. During the Second World War he was jailed for embezzlement as he sold pianos and other orchestral material which did not belong to him.

Life and career in Canada

In 1952 Houdret immigrated to Canada, initially to work as a conductor at the

Montreal Festivals The Montreal Festivals () was an arts festival held annually in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1936-1965. The festival was originally dedicated to the performance of classical music, presenting concerts of symphonic works, operas, oratorios, chambe ...

(MF). He made his first conducting appearance in Canada at the MF leading a performance of

René Fauchois René Fauchois (31 August 1882 – 10 February 1962) was a French dramatist, librettist and actor. Stagestruck from his youth, he moved from his native Rouen to Paris as a teenager to pursue a stage career. He had early success both as an actor a ...

's play ''Beethoven'' which contained

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

. Shortly thereafter he was appointed music director of

CKVL-FM CKVL-FM (FM 100,1 Radio LaSalle) is a community radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, broadcasting at 100.1 MHz. The station is owned and operated by La radio communautaire de Ville LaSalle, a non-profit organization. The station p ...

in Montreal and was appointed by

Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...

to the faculty of the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (, CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean ...

(CMQM). He notably conducted the CMQM's orchestra in performances of Handel's ''Concerto Grosso No. 10'' and a string orchestra arrangement of Corelli's ''Trio Sonatawith'' the CMQM's orchestra for a 1955 recording made for

Radio Canada International Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Prior to 1970, RCI was known as the CBC International Service ("CBC IS"). The broadcasting service was also previously ref ...

. He eventually was appointed director of the group from 1960 to 1964, during which time he led the orchestra in the world premiere of André Prévost's ''Poème de l'infini''. Houdret was highly active as a guest conductor in Canada during the 1950s and early 1960s. He notably led five performances of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

'' at the Palais du Commerce in April 1954, a work which had not been mounted in Canada since its national premiere in 1905. He appeared as a guest conductor with the

CBC Symphony Orchestra The CBC Symphony Orchestra (; CBCSO/OSSRC) was a radio orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. History The CBCSO was founded in 1952, and gave its first bro ...

10 times between 1954 and 1964, notably conducting the group in the world premieres of

Claude Champagne Claude Champagne (27 May 1891 – 21 December 1965) was a French Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, and violinist. Early life and education Born as Joseph-Arthur-Adonaï Claude Champagne in Montreal, Quebec, Champagne began piano and the ...

's ''Altitude'' and Robert Turner's ''Opening Night'' in 1960. For

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, he conducted the world premiere of

Humphrey Searle Humphrey Searle (26 August 1915 – 12 May 1982) was an English composer and writer on music. His music combines aspects of late Romanticism and modernist serialism, particularly reminiscent of his primary influences, Franz Liszt, Arnold Sch ...

's ''The Diary of a Madman'' in 1959. Houdret also appeared as a cellist in recitals and concerts throughout his career, although he primarily focused on his work as a conductor. He notably recorded six of

Luigi Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and '' galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major classi ...

's cello

sonatas In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the Music history, history of music, designating a variety of ...

with pianist Monique Marcil in 1963. In August of that same year he had an instrumental role in establishing the first

Montreal International Music Competition The Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) is an elite-level competition for classical musicians who are interested in pursuing an international career as a professional concert artist. Established in 2001 by the late André Bourbeau a ...

. After 1964 nothing of his life is known.

References

;Citations
Houdret
and the "Fondation Musicale Reine Elisabeth", Conférence de presse, March 27, 2012: ''75 ans de musique partagée'', by Michel Stockhem. In French
''La Fondation Musicale Reine Elisabeth''
Brussels. Houdret: p. 213 sq and passim (about his contributions to Brussels's interwar musical identity) {{DEFAULTSORT:Houdret, Charles 1905 births 1965 deaths Musicians from Liège Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Canadian composers Canadian male composers 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) Canadian male conductors (music) Musicians from Montreal Belgian emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian cellists