Georges Savaria
Encyclopedia
Georges Savaria is a Canadian pianist
, composer
, ondist, college administrator, and music educator. His compositional output consists of a 1951 piano concerto
, several songs and works for solo piano, and music for theatre, television, and radio. Some of his music was published by the periodical Le Passe-Temps.
, Savaria is the son of organist Joseph-Élie Savaria with whom he studied the organ and piano. He also studied music theory
in his native city with Claude Champagne
. After winning the Prix d'Europe
for piano in 1937, he studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum
with Daniel Lesur
(counterpoint
) and Olivier Messiaen
(organ). He also studied privately in that city with Louis Aubert
(music theory), Lazare Lévy
(piano), Marguerite Long
(piano), and Pierre Lucas (piano). During World War II
he was interned in a Nazi concentration camp
near Paris, but managed to escape and return to Canada in 1943. In 1980 he published a book, Hors de portée, which give a descriptive account of these events.
province from 1943-1956. He performed on a number of occasions with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, notably playing Robert Schumann
's Piano Concerto
with the orchestra in 1944 and 1947. He also appeared in concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
in 1948. He studied the ondes Martenot
with that instrument's inventor, Maurice Martenot
, in 1959-1960. He played that instrument for several plays by William Shakespear at the 1959 Stratford Festival and with the CBC Symphony Orchestra
in the 1960 world premiere of Claude Champagne's Altitude.
In 1953 Savaria began working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
as a music consultant and producer; positions he held through 1964. He also composed music for numerous CBC Television
dramas, including Federico García Lorca
's Yerma
and The House of Bernarda Alba, and for several 1963 documentaries made by Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
. In 1970 he worked as a composer for Radio-Québec. He contributed music to theatrical productions mounted by the Nouvelle Compagnie Théâtrale, the Théâtre de l'Égrégoire, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
.
As a teacher, Savaria worked for a number of educational institutions in addition to giving private instruction. He taught briefly at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal in 1952, and later rejoined that faculty on a permanent basis in 1965. He left there in 1976 to join the faculty of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières
. He served as that school's director from 1978-1980. He also was involved with the music program in the Mauricie public school district. Among his notable pupils are Albert Grenier and Jacques Hétu
.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, ondist, college administrator, and music educator. His compositional output consists of a 1951 piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
, several songs and works for solo piano, and music for theatre, television, and radio. Some of his music was published by the periodical Le Passe-Temps.
Early life and education
Born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Savaria is the son of organist Joseph-Élie Savaria with whom he studied the organ and piano. He also studied music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
in his native city with Claude Champagne
Claude Champagne
Claude Champagne was a Canadian composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, he studied violin with Albert Chamberland, organ with Orpha-F. Deveaux, and piano with Romain-Octave Pelletier I and Alexis Contant at the Conservatoire national de musique. In 1921 he went straight to Paris to study music...
. After winning the Prix d'Europe
Prix d'Europe
The Prix d'Europe is a prestigious Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition with the exception of 1960-1973 and 2009...
for piano in 1937, he studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
with Daniel Lesur
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, known often simply as Daniel-Lesur was a French organist and composer. His mother, Alice Lesur, was an accomplished composer in her own right; some of her music was even published....
(counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
) and Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
(organ). He also studied privately in that city with Louis Aubert
Louis Aubert
Louis François Marie Aubert was a French composer.-Biography:Louis Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son's musical talent, sent him to Paris to receive an education at an early age...
(music theory), Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy was an influential French pianist, organist, composer and pedgogue. As a virtuoso pianist he toured throughout Europe, in North Africa, Israel, the Soviet Union and Japan...
(piano), Marguerite Long
Marguerite Long
Marguerite Long was a French pianist and teacher.Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long was born in Nîmes. She studied with Henri Fissot at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in 1891, and privately with Antoine François Marmontel...
(piano), and Pierre Lucas (piano). During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was interned in a Nazi concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
near Paris, but managed to escape and return to Canada in 1943. In 1980 he published a book, Hors de portée, which give a descriptive account of these events.
Career
After returning home, Savaria performed actively as recitalist and on Canadian radio and television in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
province from 1943-1956. He performed on a number of occasions with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, notably playing Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
's Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto (Schumann)
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54, is a famous Romantic concerto by Robert Schumann, completed in 1845.Schumann had begun several piano concerti before this one: In 1828, he had begun one in E-flat major; from 1829-31 he worked on one in F major, and in 1839, he wrote one movement of a concerto...
with the orchestra in 1944 and 1947. He also appeared in concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is a symphony orchestra based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, with Montréal's Place des Arts as its home.-History:...
in 1948. He studied the ondes Martenot
Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...
with that instrument's inventor, Maurice Martenot
Maurice Martenot
Maurice Martenot was a French cellist, a radio telegrapher during the first World War, and an inventor.Born in Paris, he is best known for his invention of the ondes Martenot, an instrument he first realized in 1928 and spent decades improving. He unveiled a microtonal model in 1938...
, in 1959-1960. He played that instrument for several plays by William Shakespear at the 1959 Stratford Festival and with the CBC Symphony Orchestra
CBC Symphony Orchestra
The CBC Symphony Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded in 1952, conductor Geoffrey Waddington served as the orchestra'a only music director; although other conductors, such as...
in the 1960 world premiere of Claude Champagne's Altitude.
In 1953 Savaria began working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
as a music consultant and producer; positions he held through 1964. He also composed music for numerous CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
dramas, including Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
's Yerma
Yerma
Yerma is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1934, and first performed that same year. Lorca describes the play as "a tragic poem."-Plot:...
and The House of Bernarda Alba, and for several 1963 documentaries made by Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française was the French national public broadcasting organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "Radiodiffusion Française" , which had been founded in 1945...
. In 1970 he worked as a composer for Radio-Québec. He contributed music to theatrical productions mounted by the Nouvelle Compagnie Théâtrale, the Théâtre de l'Égrégoire, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is a Canadian ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec.It was founded in 1957 by Ludmilla Chiriaeff. Conductor and composer Michel Perrault served as the organization's first music director. In 2000, Gradimir Pankov became Artistic Director...
.
As a teacher, Savaria worked for a number of educational institutions in addition to giving private instruction. He taught briefly at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal in 1952, and later rejoined that faculty on a permanent basis in 1965. He left there in 1976 to join the faculty of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières
The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Trois-Rivières is a music conservatory located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.Most of the school's students come from the Saint-Maurice region of Quebec; many of them from the conservatoire preparatory programs at the school of St-Gabriel du Cap-de-la-Madeleine...
. He served as that school's director from 1978-1980. He also was involved with the music program in the Mauricie public school district. Among his notable pupils are Albert Grenier and Jacques Hétu
Jacques Hétu
Jacques Hétu, OC was a Canadian composer and music educator from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He was nominated for a 1989 Juno Award in the Best Classical Composition category...
.