Pierre Dervaux was a French opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic conductor, 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...

, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris

Conservatoire de Paris

The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...

, he studied 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 harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau

Marcel Samuel-Rousseau

Marcel Samuel-Rousseau was a French composer, organist, and opera director. He studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1905. He was the organist at Saint-Séverin from 1919–1922 and president of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique...

 and Jean

Jean Gallon

Jean Gallon was a French composer, choir conductor, and music educator. His compositional output consists of six antiphons for strings and organ, one mass, one ballet, and several art songs....

 and Noël Gallon

Noël Gallon

Noël Gallon 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 for flute and bassoon, a Fantasy for piano and orchestra, an Orchestral Suite, and the lyrical drama Paysans et Soldats...

, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp

Isidor Philipp

Isidor Philipp was a French pianist, composer, and distinguished pedagogue of Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris.-Biography:...

, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat

Yves Nat

Yves Nat was a French pianist and composer.-Biography:Yves Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise each Sunday at the organ of Béziers' cathedral during mass...

. He also served as principal conductor of the Opéra-Comique

Opéra-Comique

The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...

 (1947-53), and the Opéra de Paris (1956-72). In this capacity he directed the French première of Poulenc

Francis Poulenc

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...

’s Dialogues des Carmélites

Dialogues of the Carmelites

Dialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...

. He was also Vice-President of the Concerts Pasdeloup (1949-55), President and Chief conductor of the Concerts Colonne

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 a series of popular concerts which he founded under the...

 (1958-92), Musical Director of the Orchestre des Pays de Loire ((1971-79) as well as holding similar posts at the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (1968-75), where he collaborated with concertmaster Hidetaro Suzuki, and the Nice Philharmonic (1979-1982).

He taught at the École Normale de Musique de Paris

École Normale de Musique de Paris

The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...

 (1964-86), the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (1965-72) and was also president of the jury of the international conducting competition in Besançon.

Dervaux composed two symphonies, two concertos, a string quartet, a trio and several songs.

In addition to the Légion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

, Dervaux also received the Ordre national du Mérite

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

.

His recordings include: L'Enfance du Christ (Berlioz) in 1959, Les pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) in 1961, and Istar, Wallenstein and La Forêt enchantée (d'Indy) in 1975.

External links

• http://www.answers.com/topic/pierre-dervaux-classical-musician?cat=entertainment