Robert Lucien Siohan (27 February 1894 – 16 July 1985) was a French

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Trained as a violist, he also served as

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

Biography

Born in the

14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory"; named after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, ...

, Siohan 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

Albert Lavignac Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer. Biography Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Ben ...

, Georges Caussade and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ sympho ...

from 1909 to 1922. First Prize in

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

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 ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, he was a violist at 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 ...

. In 1921, he married Corrie Psichari, granddaughter of

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...

and daughter of Jean Psichari.

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 ...

encouraged him to direct the orchestra, and in 1924, Siohan conducted the premiere in Paris of ''

Le Roi David ''Le Roi David'' was composed in Mézières, Switzerland, in 1921 by Arthur Honegger, as incidental music for a play in French by René Morax. It was called a dramatic psalm, but has also been performed as oratorio, without staging. The plot, ba ...

'' by Arthur Honegger. In 1929 he founded the "Concerts Siohan", which he conducted until 1936 and where he premiered many French contemporary works, including ''

L'ascension ''L'Ascension'' (, ; official translation: ''"Ascension Day"'') is a suite of four symphonic meditations for orchestra that, with the exception of its third movement, were later arranged for pipe organ in 1933–1934. The work was written by th ...

'' by Olivier Messiaen in 1934. He was appointed choir director at the Opéra in 1932, then professor of deciphering at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1945, a position he held until 1962. Siohan defended a doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne (''Théories nouvelles de l'harmonie'') which was published two year later. In 1964, he was appointed Inspector General of Music. Siohan composed mainly for the orchestra, and chamber music. His style is similar to neo-classicalism. He worked for more than half a century in the family home of his wife Corrie Renan-Psichari-Siohan, the Scheffer - Renan Hotel, in the Nouvelle Athenes district, which became the Musée de la Vie Romantique in 1987. Robert Siohan died in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

on 16 July 1985.

Prizes

* Prix Halphen, 1922 (for his string quartet) *

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Am ...

, 1926 (symphony, string quartet, mélodies)

Principal works

*1922: ''In memoriam'', for orchestra *1922: String quartet *1924: ''Pièces'', for flute solo *1925–1926: Symphony *1926: ''Cantique au frère soleil'', mélodie for choir and orchestra *1926–1927: ''Le Baladin de satin cramoisi'', opera *1927: Concerto for cello *1928: Concerto for violin *1938: ''Hypérion'', choreographic symphony *1939: Concerto for piano *1945: ''Mallarméennes'', for piano *1969, 1977: Quartet with piano *1972: ''Jeux phonétiques'', for choir and orchestra *1975: Trois dialogues, for violin and piano *1982: Thrène

Bibliography

* Siohan, Robert: ''

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

'', by Robert Sioran series ''Solfèges'',

Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as Le Seuil, is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil'' (th ...

(1959; 1971) * Siohan, Robert: ''La musique étrangère contemporaine'' (1954),''La musique étrangère contemporaine''
on WorldCat reissued in 1984 under the title: ''La musique étrangère au XXe siècle''

Biography

Prizes

Principal works

Bibliography

References

External links