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

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

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

Annie Challan Annie Challan (born 5 November 1940) is a French harpist. Life Born in Toulouse, Annie Challan is composer René Challan's daughter. She started playing the piano at the age of 2 and then the harp at the age of 9 in the class of Lily Laskine wi ...

's father.

Career

Born in Asnières (

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern 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 we ...

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

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as 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 ...

with Jean 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 ''Sonata ...

, as well as

Henri Büsser Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor. Biography Büsser was born in Toulouse of partly German ancestry. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1889, where he studied ...

. 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 Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Med ...

. 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 (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in 1952. In addition to his numerous compositions of cantata, 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 ...

, concertos and

opéra bouffe Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of 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. Opéras bouf ...

, 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, ''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 philha ...

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 become the ...

with the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

. Challan died in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is ...

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. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c ...

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

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

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 Georges Samuel Tzipine (22 June 1907 – 8 December 1987) was a French violinist, conductor and composer. He was of Russian-Jewish origin.Fernand Oubradous (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 ...

(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 sm ...

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. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

)
''Au crépuscule'' (Twilight) René Challan (1957)
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Challan, Rene French opera composers 20th-century French composers Prix de Rome for composition Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 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