Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French

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 ...

, 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 career

Paul Vidal was born in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and studied at the conservatoires there and 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 January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, under

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

at the latter. He won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1883, one year before

Claude 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 influe ...

. On 8 January 1886, in Rome, Vidal and Debussy performed Franz Liszt's ''

Faust Symphony ''A Faust Symphony in three character pictures'' (), List of compositions by Franz Liszt (S.1 - S.350), S.108, or simply the "''Faust Symphony''", is a choral symphony written by Hungarians, Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfga ...

'' at two pianos for Liszt himself, an after-dinner performance that Liszt apparently slept through. The following day they played Emmanuel Chabrier's '' Trois valses romantiques'' for Liszt. Vidal conducted at the

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

where he made his first appearance directing '' Gwendoline'' in 1894 (he had coached the singers for the Paris premiere in 1893), and later conducted the first performance of '' Ariane'' and the Paris premieres of '' Roma'' by Massenet, and ''L'étranger'' by d’Indy. He co-founded the Concerts de l’Opera with Georges Marty. He was Music Director of the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

from 1914 to 1919, conducting revivals of '' Alceste'', ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

'' (the French version of Mozart's Don Giovanni), '' Iphigénie en Tauride'', ''L'irato'', ''Le Rêve'' and '' Thérèse''. He also conducted the premieres of several operas and ballets.Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. He taught at 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 ...

, where his students included composers Lili Boulanger, Marc Delmas,

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 ...

and Vladimir Fédorov. He died in Paris, aged 67. His brother Joseph Bernard Vidal (1859-1924) was also a composer.

Compositions and pedagogy

His compositions are virtually forgotten today: they include the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s ''Eros'' (1892), ''Guernica'' (1895) and ''La Burgonde'' (1898); ballets ''La Maladetta'' (1893) and ''Fête russe'' (1893, arr. - both choreographed by Joseph Hansen, Paris Opera); a cantata ''Ecce Sacerdos magnus''; and

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 ...

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (; 14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier ...

's ''Le Baiser'' (1888) and Catulle Mendès' ''La Reine Fiammette'' (1898). In collaboration with

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty , opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet (1 ...

, he also orchestrated piano music of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

into a ''Suite de danses'' (1913). He is perhaps better known today through his keyboard harmony exercises, ''Recueil de basses et chants donnés'' which was a favorite teaching tool of his pupil, the legendary pedagogue

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

, and subsequently many of her students including Narcis Bonet who has republished a selection of these exercises under the title ''Paul Vidal, Nadia Boulanger: A Collection of Given Basses and Melodies''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Paul 1863 births 1931 deaths Musicians from Toulouse French Romantic composers French opera composers French male opera composers French male conductors (music) 20th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French classical pianists 19th-century French male classical pianists 19th-century French classical pianists Prix de Rome for composition Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni Pupils of Jules Massenet Burials at Batignolles Cemetery 20th-century French conductors (music)