Claude Samuel (23 June 1931 – 14 June 2020) was a French music critic and radio personality.

Biography

Born in Paris, after medical studies and graduating as a dental surgeon, Samuel chose to devote himself to classical music journalism. He was a regular contributor to various newspapers of the daily press (''

Paris-Presse ''Paris-Presse'' was a French newspaper published in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in ...

'', from 1961 to 1970; ''

Le Matin de Paris ''Le Matin de Paris'' (, ''The Morning of Paris'') was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987 ("dépôt de bilan" on 6 May). Its foundation is the subject of the documentary ''Numéros zéro ...

'', from 1977 to 1987), of the weekly press ('' L’Express'' in 1959 and 1960; '' Le Nouveau Candide'' from 1961 to 1967; ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...

'', from 1974 to 1989), the monthly press (Revue ''Réalités'', and discs collection ''Philips-Réalités'' from 1957 to 1960) and the music press (''Harmonie'', ''Le Panorama de la Musique'', ''Musiques'', '' La Lettre du musicien'', '' Diapason'', where he has been responsible for the "Ce jour-là" column since 2001). He also commented on cultural news since 2007 until November 2018 in a weekly blog. A producer of programs at the R.T.F. then at the O.R.T.F. (more than a thousand broadcasts from 1957 to 2007 for

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

and

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

), he was Director of Music (appointed under the presidency of Jean Maheu) from 1989 to 1996; in this capacity, he was vice-president of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Devoting an important part of his activity, in different forms, to contemporary creation, he was responsible for the programming of the Royan Festival from 1965 to 1972 and then, after a dispute with the Royan authorities, he continued this work in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

from 1973 to 1977. Creator of the "Centre Acanthes", an annual educational session for young composers and performers held successively at the Conservatoire d'Aix-en-Provence (1977–1986), at the Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon (1987–2003) and then at the Arsenal de Metz (2004–2011), he has invited a number of leading figures of contemporary music to attend: (

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

, Iannis Xenakis,

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

, Henri Dutilleux,

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

, Mauricio Kagel,

Pierre Henry Henry at his home (January 2008) Pierre Georges Albert François Henry (; 9 December 1927 – 5 July 2017) was a French composer known for his significant contributions to musique concrète. Biography Henry was born in Paris, France, and bega ...

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Luigi Nono, Tōru Takemitsu,

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

, Sofia Gubaidulina,

Helmut Lachenmann Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (; born 27 November 1935) is a German composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. Associated with the "instrumental musique concrète" style, Lachenmann is alongside Wolfgang Rihm as among the leading Germa ...

, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös, Wolfgang Rihm). At

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

, he created and directed the from 1991 to 1997. Very committed in the field of musical competitions, Claude Samuel created and directed the Olivier Messiaen Competition for contemporary piano (1977–2007) and the Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch (1977–2009). Samuel has directed the "Concours de la Ville de Paris" from 1990 to 2014 (flute competition Jean-Pierre Rampal, trumpet competition Maurice André, piano-jazz competition Martial Solal, luthiery and arcèterie competition Étienne Vatelot).

Awards

* Officier of the Légion d’honneur (1985) * Officier des Arts et des Lettres * Officier of the Order of Merit (1993).

Works

* (ed. reworked and extended) * ''Panorama de l’art musical contemporain'',

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

(1962) * ''Entretiens avec

'', Éditions Belfond (1967) * Expanded edition under the title ''Olivier Messiaen – Musique et couleur'' * ''Olivier Messiaen, nouveaux entretiens, Belfond, (1986)'' * ''Permanences d’Olivier Messiaen - dialogues et commentaires,'' Actes Sud (1999) * Olivier Messiaen/Le livre du Centenaire (in coll. with Anik Lesure),Anik Lesure
/ref> Symétrie (2008) * ''Le Grand Macabre de Ligeti,'' Hubschmid and Bouret (1981) * ''Éclats/

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 ...

'', Ed. du Centre Georges Pompidou (1986) * ''

/Eclats 2002'', Ed. Mémoire du Livre (2002) * ''Interviews with Mstislav Rostropovitch and

Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (, Ivanova, Иванова; 25 October 1926 – 11 December 2012) was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropo ...

'', Éditions Robert Laffont (1983) * '' Clara S./Les secrets d’une passion,'' Éditions Flammarion (2006)

References

External links

Claude Samuel
(symetrie.com)
Olivier Messiaen, compositeur ornithologue
(2012)
Le regard de Claude Samuel
(qobuz.com) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Claude 1931 births 2020 deaths Writers from Paris French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French musicologists Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite French music critics Classical music critics Boulez scholars Ligeti scholars Messiaen scholars Prokofiev scholars