Jean-Christophe Keck is a French

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

and

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 ...

, born in

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

, in 1964. He is particularly noted as a specialist in the works of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, and is the director of the complete critical edition in progress, named after both, Offenbach Edition Keck (OEK).Keck, Jean-Christophe. Biographical note in CD 442 8964, Association des Concerts Pasdeloup/Universal, 2007.

Biography

As a child he played tuba in the Briançon town bandUne tranche de Keck? ''Lyre'' #02 Lettre d'information des Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble, March–April–May 2006, p6-7. and after early studies at the école de musique de Briançon he attended for two years the Conservatoire de Marseille before entering the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris. There he followed courses in conducting with Jean-Sébastien Bérault, musicology and composition with Pierre Villette, vocal studies (tenor) with Christiane Eda-Pierre, and piano. He was struck early by a passion for the music of Offenbach, through the TV series ''Les Folies Offenbach'' with

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

, the recording of ''Belle Hélène'' conducted by

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 ...

and that of

Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

conducted by Pierre-Michel Le Conte, with Heinz Rehfuss. He also singles out conductors Jules Gressier, Marcel Cariven and Jean Doussard who managed to create miracles of music under difficult conditions. Alongside a singing career, in which he was engaged at the (

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...

Opéra de Lyon The Opéra de Lyon (also known as Opéra Nouvel, formerly Grand Théâtre) in Lyon, France, is the home of the Opéra National de Lyon. The original opera house was re-designed by the distinguished French architect, Jean Nouvel between 1985 and 19 ...

), he also began to conduct. He was involved in film, radio and television including some of his own compositions. He is the musical director of Pro 05, the chamber orchestra of the

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

, as well as the Festival lyrique des châteaux de

Bruniquel Bruniquel (; Languedocien: ''Borniquèl'') is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. It is in the Quercy natural region, on the departmental border with Tarn. The commune is a member of Les Plus ...

(

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...

). Since 2004, he has directed the Offenbach concerts of the Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup. In April 2012 he conducted '' Ba-ta-clan'' and '' Mesdames de la Halle'' for the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin. For some years Jean-Christophe Keck has been leading the work to create a critical edition of all the works of Offenbach. The Offenbach Edition Keck is being published by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

. Already Keck's editions of ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'', '' La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'', '' La Vie parisienne'' and '' Les Brigands'' have been successfully performed. His edition of the 1858 version of ''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

'' has been highly praised. His researches have led him to acquire many important related documents and manuscripts. In a 2013 article he predicted that the edition OEK would when complete comprise 43 volumes, although he added "that won't be in my lifetime". Keck featured in the 2004 documentary directed by Gérald Caillat ''The Missing Manuscript'', about the textual history of ''

''. In 2002 the Festival de Radio-France Montpellier saw the recreation of Offenbach's grand opéra romantique '' Les Fées du Rhin'' in Keck's edition. The revival of this important work won various prizes including the Prix Michel Garcin (Meilleure initiative discographique) of the Académie du disque lyrique. The Opéra-Théâtre de

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

created his opéra-bouffe ''Monsieur de Chimpanzé'' on a libretto by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

in November 2005, conducted by Dominique Trottein. Although a work set to the libretto had been premiered at the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1858, the music had been lost, and Keck composed an entirely new score.Lorraine - Opéra-Théâtre de Metz. '' Diapason Saison 2005-2006 Guide des Opéras'', p35-36. Keck is also a producer and presenter for

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 ...

Discography

;as conductor *''Ballade Symphonique'', Orchestre national de Montpellier, Accord, 2005 *'' Le Financier et le Savetier, et autre délices'', with Ghyslaine Raphanel, Franck Thézan and

Éric Huchet Éric Huchet (born 1 December 1962 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye) is a French contemporary lyric tenor. Musical studies * First prize of the in 1992. * University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in Walter Berry's class Roles * Achille, Mene ...

and the Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup, Accord, 2007 ;as musicologist *''Les Fées du Rhin'' with Regina Schörg, Nora Gubisch, Piotr Beczała and Dalibor Jenis and the Orchestre national de Montpellier, Friedemann Layer (conductor), Accord, 2003 *''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' with Felicity Lott, Yann Beuron and

François Le Roux François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...

;

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. Minkowski was musical director of Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Austria, from 2013 to 2017 and was gene ...

(conductor), Virgin Classics, 2005 *''Concerto pour violoncelle et orchestre « Concerto militaire »'' with Jérôme Pernoo; Marc Minkowski (conductor), Archiv Produktion, 2006 ;as singer *'

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swedi ...

sings Offenbach' - Les Musiciens Du Louvre, Marc Minkowski, Deutsche Grammophon, 2002 *' Magdalena Kožená - French Arias' - Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Marc Minkowski, Deutsche Gramophon, 2003

References

External links

OEK site
critical edition of the complete works of Offenbach
Official website of Jean-Christophe Keck
with biographical texts, and information on Offenbach and Roger Roger {{DEFAULTSORT:Keck, Jean Christophe 1964 births Living people People from Briançon 20th-century French musicologists 21st-century French musicologists French male conductors (music) Conservatoire de Paris alumni Radio France people 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians