Alexis Roland-Manuel (22 March 18911 November 1966) was a French composer and critic, remembered mainly for his criticism.

Biography

He was born Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy in Paris, to a family of Belgian and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origins. He studied composition under

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

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

. As a young man he befriended composer

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

, who helped him to make numerous influential connections. In 1911, Satie introduced Roland-Manuel to

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 ...

, whose pupil, friend and biographer he soon became. In 1947, he was appointed Professor of

Aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

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 he remained until his retirement in 1961, making many contributions to musical theory and criticism, even assisting

Igor 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 20th-century c ...

by ghost-writing the theoretical work "

The Poetics of Music ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

". In addition to theoretical works, he wrote and composed various works for stage, especially comic operas, and screen, developing a partnership with director

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959) was a French film director. Biography Grémillon was born in Bayeux and spent his early years in Cerisy-la-Forêt in Normandy. His father was employed by the Ouest railway company. Durin ...

, for five of whose films he composed the scores. Roland-Manuel's criticism included several monographs on the music of Ravel from the perspective of a respectful pupil and a lifetime friend. The titles include "Ravel", "Ravel et son oeuvre" and "Ravel et son oeuvre dramatique".

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

dedicated '' Pastorale d'été'' to Roland-Manuel.Topeka Symphony
He died in Paris in 1966.

Selected works

Stage

*''Isabelle et Pantalon'' (1922) * ''Canarie'' (1927; for the children's ballet ''

L'éventail de Jeanne ''Naughty Martine'' or ''The Fan'' (French: ''L'éventail'') is a 1947 French comedy film directed by Emil-Edwin Reinert and starring Dany Robin, Claude Dauphin (actor), Claude Dauphin and Lucien Baroux. The film's sets were designed by the art d ...

'', to which ten French composers each contributed a dance) * ''Le Diable amoureux'' (1929), opera based on the novel '' The Devil in Love'' by

Jacques Cazotte Jacques Cazotte (; 17 October 1719 – 25 September 1792) was a French author and a monarchist. He predicted the Reign of Terror and was guillotined shortly after. Life Born in Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the ...

* ''Canarie'' (1952: for the collaborative orchestral work '' La guirlande de Campra'') * ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1955)

Film scores

* ''

Little Lise ''Little Lise'' (French: ''La petite Lise'') is a 1930 French drama film directed by Jean Grémillon and starring Nadia Sibirskaïa.Andrew p.107 It was shot at the Joinville Studios of Pathé in Paris. The film's sets were designed by Guy de Gas ...

'' (1930) * '' The Dream'' (1931) * ''Partir'' ('' Departure'', 1931) * '' Crainquebille'' (1934) * ''

King of the Camargue ''King of the Camargue'' (French: ''Roi de Camargue'') is a 1935 French drama film directed by Jacques de Baroncelli and starring Antonin Berval, Simone Bourday and Paul Azaïs. It is based on a novel of the same title by Jean Aicard, previously ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Brighton Twins ''The Brighton Twins'' (French: ''Les jumeaux de Brighton'') is a 1936 French comedy film directed by Claude Heymann and starring Raimu, Michel Simon and Suzy Prim.Crisp p.407 It is based on the 1908 play of the same title by Tristan Bernard and ...

'' (1936) * '' The Strange Monsieur Victor'' (1938) * ''Remorques'', ('' Stormy Waters'', 1941) * '' Summer Light'' (1943) * '' Lucrèce'' (1943) * ''Le Ciel est à vous'' ('' The Woman Who Dared'', 1944)

References

External links

* * Writers from Paris 1891 births 1966 deaths 20th-century French classical composers French male classical composers French music critics French ballet composers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century French male writers Ravel scholars {{France-composer-stub