Jean Doyen (8 March 1907 – 21 April 1982) was a French classical pianist, pedagogue and composer.

Biography

Born in Paris, Doyen graduated from the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

as pianist in 1922. He began learning the instrument with Sophie Chéné (teacher of Blanche Selva), then studied with

Louis Diémer Louis Joseph Diémer (14 February 1843 – 21 December 1919) was a French pianist and composer. He was the founder of the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s, and also gave recitals on the harpsichord. His output as a composer was exten ...

(1919) and finally with

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

. In 1924, he made his solo debut with the

Concerts Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...

. He also participated in

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of 20th-century classical music, classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoir ...

's ballet ''Les Rencontres'', at the

Opera Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at ...

. In 1926 he worked at the Radiodiffusion Française, but at the same time he returned to the Conservatoire in

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

class with

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

and

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 ...

with

Paul Vidal Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French composer, conductor and music teacher mainly active in Paris.Charlton D. Paul Vidal. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and caree ...

and

Henri Büsser Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, conductor and teacher. Among his teachers were César Franck, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet. In addition to his own compositions Büsser edi ...

. From 1941 to 1977, he was professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Paris, succeeding Marguerite Long. Among his pupils were

İdil Biret İdil Biret (born 21 November 1941) is a Turkish concert pianist. Education Biret began her lessons at the age of five with Mithat Fenmen, who had studied under Nadia Boulanger and Alfred Cortot. When she was seven, the Turkish parliament ena ...

, Roger Boutry,

Philippe Entremont Philippe Entremont (born 7 June 1934) is a French classical pianist and conducting, conductor. His recordings as a pianist include concertos by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff, Camille Sain ...

, Marie-Thérèse Fourneau,

Claude Kahn Claude Kahn (9 November 1935 – 17 November 2023) was a French classical pianist, internationally known for his interpretations of especially the music of Chopin, but also of French music (Debussy, Fauré, Ravel) as soloist or accompanied by ...

, André Krust, Arthur Moreira Lima, Bernard Job,

Dominique Merlet Dominique Marie-Joseph Merlet (born 18 February 1938) is a French contemporary pianist, organist and music educator. Biography Born in Bordeaux, Dominique Merlet was a student of Jean Roger-Ducasse, Roger-Ducasse, Louis Hiltbrand, and Nadia Bo ...

and Chantal Riou. Doyen is best known for his interpretations of 19th and 20th century French music, notably in the works of

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germ ...

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born ...

and

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

and is considered one of the great interpreters of this repertoire and above all, of

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

and

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

. He also enjoyed playing

's ''Fantaisie sur un vieil air de ronde française'' and Samazeuilh's ''Trois Danses''. However, he recorded Chopin's

waltzes The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

, and premiered the ''Variations sur un thème de Don Juan''. As composer, he published one ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'', a

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

, a suite in B, ''Marine'' for

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 ...

and female vocal quartet. His daughter, Geneviève Doyen (1944–2004) was also a pianist. However, there is no relationship with Ginette Doyen (alias Geneviève Fournier, 1921–2002), married to and musical collaborator of violinist Jean Fournier, himself

Pierre Fournier Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound. Biography Pierre Fournier was born in Paris, the son of a F ...

's brother.

Discography

* Chopin's 14

(1956, LP Fontana 700.009 /

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

A77405L)Excerpts on line
* Fauré's work for piano (1972, 4CDs

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

) * Fauré's Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45 - Trio Pasquier: Jean Pasquier (violin),

Étienne Pasquier Étienne Pasquier (7 June 152930 August 30 1615) was a French lawyer and man of letters. By his own account he was born in Paris on 7 June 1529, but according to others he was born in 1528. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549. In 1558 he be ...

(cello), Jean Doyen (piano) (1964, Erato) * Halffter's ''Rapsodia Portuguesa'' for piano and orchestra - Jean Doyen (piano); Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, conductor Charles Munch (October 1941/March 1942) * Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, Fantasia in D minor K 397 -

Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire () was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the phi ...

, dir. Charles Munch (23 December 1941 and 2 February 1942, Lys) * Ravel's piano music, Concertos -

Orchestre Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...

, dir.

Jean Fournet Jean Fournet (14 April 1913 – 3 November 2008) was a French flautist and conducting, conductor. Biography Fournet was born in Rouen in 1913. His father was a flutist who gave him some instruction on the flute and music theory. Fournet was t ...

(1954, Philips / 2CDs Accord)

Bibliography

References

External links

*
''Jean Doyen ou l'ineffable interprétation'', biography
(Musimem)
Jean Doyen's discography
(

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

)
Chopin - Jean Doyen (1956) Complete waltzes
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyen, Jean 20th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French classical pianists Musicians from Paris 1907 births 1982 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 20th-century French composers