René Louis Jean Challan (12 December 1910 – 4 August 1978) was a French classical composer,

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

and

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

for French record labels. René Challan was composer Henri Challan's twin brother and harpist Annie Challan's father.

Career

Born in Asnières (

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

), the son of Émile Challan, Challan studied 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 ...

with

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

and

Noël Gallon Noël Jean-Charles André Gallon (; 11 September 1891 – 26 December 1966) was a French composer and music educator. His compositional output includes several choral works and vocal art songs, 10 preludes, a ''Toccata'' for piano, a ''Sona ...

, as well as

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 ...

. He won second prize at 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 1935. The following year, he won the First Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, ''Le Château endormi'' and joined the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

. In 1937, he married the eldest daughter of the prefect before returning to Paris at the end of the summer of 1939. From 1945 to 1975, he was artistic director of Pathé-Marconi and ensured the career of the record company's classical artists. He also managed the rights and recordings of the great international composers in Pathé-Marconi's catalogue. Challan was made a

chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1952. In addition to his numerous compositions of

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

, mélodies,

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s and

opéra bouffe ''Opéra bouffe'' (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of mid- to late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. It ...

, Challan made great recordings such as ''noëls variés'' by different authors 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 ...

which he conducted and the baritone

Michel Dens Michel Dens (22 June 1911 in Roubaix – 19 December 2000 in Paris) was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta. Born Maurice Marcel, the son of a journalist, he studied at the Academy of ...

, ''Chants patriotiques et cocardiers'' (1958) as director of the

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 ...

and another disc with the Concerts Colonne and the Duclos Choirs on the theme ''Envoi de fleurs'', containing pieces by Gustave Goublier, Paul Delmet and Pierre Codini.Pierre Codini
on Bibliothèque Nationale de France In the early seventies, he recorded the complete works of

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

with the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...

. Challan died in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

on 4 August 1978 in his 68th year.

Works

*''Le château endormi'' (cantata) (1936). *Symphonie n°1 (1937). *''Jacasserie'', page for saxophone quartet. *''Blasons du corps féminin''. *''Dedans Paris'' (mélodie). *''Mélodies pour chant et piano'', on lyrics by

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. He was influenced by the writers of the late 15th century and paved the way for the Pléiade, and is undoubtedly the most important poet at the court of Fr ...

(1938). *''Concerto pastoral pour piano et orchestre'' (1943) recorded at

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

with

Samson François Samson Pascal François (18 May 192422 October 1970) was a French pianist and composer. Biography François was born in Frankfurt where his father worked at the French consulate. His mother, Rose, named him Samson, for strength, and Pascal, fo ...

and Georges Tzipine (janvier 1954). *''Concerto pour saxophone'' (1944). *''Concerto pour violon'' (1945). *''Concerto grosso pour trois trompettes et timbales'', premiered by

Fernand Oubradous Fernand Oubradous (12 February 1903 – 6 January 1986) was a French bassoonist, conductor and composer. Born in Paris, he studied in his native city with André Bloch André Bloch may refer to: *André Bloch (composer) (1873–1960), French compo ...

(1945). *''Concerto pour piano'' (1954) premiered by the Société des Concerts with Samson François and Georges Tzipine at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

(3 March 1957). * Symphonie n°2 in F major, given at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

for the first time on 1 February 1959 by the Concerts Colonne conducted by Georges Tzipine (1956). *''Concerto pour harpe'' (1956-1957). *Opéra-bouffe, ''Jörgen de Danemark'' (1960). * Symphonie n°3 (1959-1961).

Awards

;Prizes * Second prix de Rome (1935) * Grand prix de Rome (1936)

References

External links

Portrait of René Challan on ''Prix de Rome 1930-1939''

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 ...

)
''Au crépuscule'' (Twilight) René Challan (1957)
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Challan, Rene French opera composers 20th-century French composers Prix de Rome for composition Knights of the Legion of Honour French impresarios French art directors Conservatoire de Paris alumni People from Asnières-sur-Seine 1910 births 1978 deaths French male classical composers 20th-century French male musicians