Claude Helffer (18 June 1922 – 27 October 2004) was a French pianist.

Early life

Helffer was born in Paris, and began piano lessons at the age of five and from the age of ten until the outbreak of World War II he studied with

Robert Casadesus Robert Marcel Casadesus (7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus ...

. During the War he entered

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern Franc ...

and fought for the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the War, he studied theory and composition with

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

Career

He made his debut in Paris in 1948 and from 1954 appeared regularly in the concerts of the Domaine musical. Helffer gave many premières of new works and was the dedicatee of several notable works, including ''Erikhthon'' ( Xenakis, 1974), Concerto ( Boucourechliev, 1975), ''Stances'' (

Betsy Jolas Elizabeth Jolas (born 5 August 1926) is a Franco-American composer. Biography Jolas was born in Paris in 1926. Her mother, the American translator Maria McDonald, was a singer. Her father, the poet and journalist Eugene Jolas, founded and edited ...

, 1978), Concerto no. 1 (

Luis de Pablo Luis de Pablo Costales (28 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a Spanish composer belonging to the generation that Cristóbal Halffter named ''the Generación del 51''. Mostly self-taught as a composer and influenced by Maurice Ohana and M ...

, 1980), ''Envoi'' ( Gilles Tremblay, 1982), and ''Modifications'' (

Michael Jarrell Michael Jarrell (born 8 October 1958) is a Swiss composer and academic teacher, whose operas, such as '' Cassandre'', have been performed internationally. Life Born in Geneva, Jarrell studied at the Geneva Conservatoire, and later with Klaus ...

, 1983). Conductors he collaborated with included

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 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 Western classical music. Born in Mon ...

, Bour, Gielen, Leibowitz, Maderna, Marriner, Martinon, Van Otterloo, Prêtre and Scherchen. His discography includes the complete piano music of Schoenberg (Grand Prix du Disque),

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

and the

Sonatas Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor *Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

and Barraqué. Helffer taught

master class A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed. "Masterclass" is als ...

es all over the world, most notably at the

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Summer Academy from 1985 to 1998.

Personal life

Helffer married the noted

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

, Mireille Helffer, whom he met at the Lycée Molière two years earlier, in June 1946.Philippe Albèra, ''Entretiens avec Claude Helffer,'' Contrechamps, 1995 p.25.

Discography

* Barraqué:

Piano Sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movement (music), movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Domenico Scarlatti, Scarlatti, Liszt, Scr ...

(recorded 1969). Astrée (LP) * Bartók: ''

Out of Doors Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *Out (200 ...

'', Piano Sonata, ''Popular Romanian Dances'', Suite op. 14, ''Improvisations'' op. 20. Harmonia Mundi (CD) * Bartók: ''Mikrokosmos''. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD) * Bartók: Piano sonata.

: 3 Etudes.

Evangelisti Evangelisti is a surname, and may refer to: * Alessandro Evangelisti (born 1981), Italian footballer * Franco Evangelisti (composer) (1926–1980), Italian composer * Franco Evangelisti (politician), (1923–1993) Italian politician * Giovanni Evan ...

: ''Due proiezioni sonore''. Serocki: ''A piacere''. RCA Red Seal (LP) *

: Piano Sonata No. 2.

: Piano Sonata. Deutsche Grammophon (LP) * Boulez: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1–3. Astrée (LP/CD) * Debussy: Complete Works for Solo Piano. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD) * Milhaud: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4, ''Le Carnaval d’Aix'', 5 Etudes, Ballade. Orchestre National cond. D. Robertson. Erato (CD) *

: Complete Works for Solo Piano. Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD, 2 vols.) * Roussel: Piano Concerto. Omega (LP) * Schoenberg: Piano Concerto op.42 (recorded c.1952). Orchestre Radio-Symphonique de Paris cond. René Leibowitz. Renaissance/Period/Counterpoint (LP) * Schoenberg: Complete Works for Solo Piano (recorded 1976). Harmonia Mundi (LP/CD) * Schoenberg: Complete Works for Solo Piano (recorded 2000). Pianovox (CD) * Xenakis: ''Mists'', ''Herma'', ''A r.'', ''Akea'', ''Dikhtas'', ''Evryali'', chamber works.

Irvine Arditti Irvine Arditti (born 8 February 1953) is a British violinist, as well as the leader and founder of the Arditti Quartet. Biography Arditti attended the Central Foundation Boys' School in London before continuing his studies at the Royal Academy ...

(violin);

Arditti Quartet The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. T ...

. Astrée Auvidis (2 CDs)

Bibliography

* Albèra, Philippe, ''Entretiens avec Claude Helffer'', 1995 (Editions Contrechamps) * Helffer, Claude and Michaud-Pradeilles, Catherine, ''Le Piano'', 1997 (Presses universitaires de France: ''Que sais-je?'') * Helffer, Claude, ''Quinze analyses musicales, de Bach à Manoury'', 2000 (Editions Contrechamps) *''Claude Helffer: La musique sur le bout des doigts'': Entretien avec Bruno Serrou, 2005 (Michel de Maule/Institut national de l'audiovisuel, with DVD-ROM)

External links

Qui est Claude HELFFER?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helffer, Claude 20th-century French male classical pianists Pupils of René Leibowitz 1922 births 2004 deaths École Polytechnique alumni Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French Resistance members