Pierre Sancan
Encyclopedia
Pierre Sancan was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Along with Olivier Messiaen
and Henri Dutilleux
, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.
Born in Mazamet
in the South of France, Sancan began in musical studies in Morocco and Toulouse before entering the Conservatoire de Paris
where he studied with Jean Gallon
, and where he took conducting with Charles Munch
and Roger Désormière
, piano with Yves Nat
, and composition with Henri Busser
.
In 1943, he won the Conservatoire's Prix de Rome
for composition, with his cantata La Légende de Icare, but did not assume a regular teaching post there until 1956 when his former master Yves Nat retired. Sancan held this job until his own retirement in 1985. He lived another 23 years, to the age of 92, but his later years were compromised by Alzheimer's Disease
.
As a pianist, Sancan was most prominently seen in his role as accompanist to the great cellist André Navarra
. And his recordings of Ravel's two piano concertos with conductor Pierre Dervaux
, and Mozart 4-hand Concertos with Jean-Bernard Pommier
, were highly praised upon their release in the 1960s, but are now deleted.
As a piano teacher, Sancan helped to train such luminaries as Michel Béroff
, Abdel Rahman El Bacha
, Émile Naoumoff
, Jean-Bernard Pommier
, Daniel Varsano, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Jacques Rouvier
, and Jean-Philippe Collard
who has recorded Sancan's Piano Concerto. Sancan's Sonatine for flute and piano (1946) is his best-known work, and has been a popular staple for flute players since its publication, but little else of his oeuvre is well known. Sancan also composed a Violin Concerto, at least three ballets, a Symphony for Strings (1961), and an opera Ondine (1962). Some of his shorter piano pieces, such as Boîte à musique and the Toccata, have caught on a encore pieces.
Sancan sought to reconcile contemporary performance techniques with the harmonic language of Debussy, a composer of whom Sancan was an expert interpreter.
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...
and Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.
Born in Mazamet
Mazamet
Mazamet is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.It is the second-largest component of the Castres-Mazamet metropolitan area.-Geography:...
in the South of France, Sancan began in musical studies in Morocco and Toulouse before entering 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...
where he studied with Jean Gallon
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 where he took conducting with Charles Munch
Charles Munch
Charles Munch may refer to:*Charles Munch , American artist*Charles Munch , orchestral conductorSee also:*Charles Munch discography, recordings of Munch, the conductor...
and Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière was a French conductor.Désormière was born in Vichy in 1898. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his professors included Philippe Gaubert , Xavier Leroux and Charles Koechlin , and Vincent d'Indy...
, piano with 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...
, and composition with Henri Busser
Henri Büsser
Henri Büsser was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor.- Biography :Paul-Henri Büsser was born in Toulouse, of partly Teutonic ancestry. He entered the Conservatoire in Paris in 1889; there he studied organ with César Franck and composition with Ernest Guiraud...
.
In 1943, he won the Conservatoire's Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
for composition, with his cantata La Légende de Icare, but did not assume a regular teaching post there until 1956 when his former master Yves Nat retired. Sancan held this job until his own retirement in 1985. He lived another 23 years, to the age of 92, but his later years were compromised by Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.
As a pianist, Sancan was most prominently seen in his role as accompanist to the great cellist André Navarra
André Navarra
André-Nicolas Navarra was a French cellist and cello teacher.-Early life:...
. And his recordings of Ravel's two piano concertos with conductor Pierre Dervaux
Pierre Dervaux
Pierre Dervaux was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat...
, and Mozart 4-hand Concertos with Jean-Bernard Pommier
Jean-Bernard Pommier
Jean-Bernard Pommier , is a French pianist and conductor.- Biography :Pommier studied conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris with Yves Nat, Pierre Sancan and Eugene Bigot....
, were highly praised upon their release in the 1960s, but are now deleted.
As a piano teacher, Sancan helped to train such luminaries as Michel Béroff
Michel Béroff
-Biography:Béroff was born at Épinal, and trained at the Nancy Conservatory, winning the 1st prize in 1962 and the prize of excellence in 1963. He completed his studies at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod, winning the 1st prize in 1966. In 1967 he made his Paris debut and won 1st prize in...
, Abdel Rahman El Bacha
Abdel Rahman El Bacha
Abdel Rahman El Bacha is a Lebanese pianist and composer.His repertory includes over fifty concertos and is largely based on the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Prokofiev .-Biography:...
, Émile Naoumoff
Emile Naoumoff
Emile Naoumoff revealed himself a musical prodigy at age five, taking up study of the piano and adding composition to his studies a year later. At the age of eight, after a fateful meeting in Paris, he became the last disciple of Nadia Boulanger, who referred to him as "the gift of my old age"...
, Jean-Bernard Pommier
Jean-Bernard Pommier
Jean-Bernard Pommier , is a French pianist and conductor.- Biography :Pommier studied conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris with Yves Nat, Pierre Sancan and Eugene Bigot....
, Daniel Varsano, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Jacques Rouvier
Jacques Rouvier
Jacques Rouvier is a French pianist. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Jean Hubeau, Vlado Perlemuter, and Pierre Sancan. He took two Premiers Prix : in piano performance and in chamber music .Rouvier was remarkably successful at piano competitions in his youth...
, and Jean-Philippe Collard
Jean-Philippe Collard
Jean-Philippe Collard is a renowned French pianist who is known for his interpretations of the works of Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns.Born into a musical family, he started playing the piano at age five...
who has recorded Sancan's Piano Concerto. Sancan's Sonatine for flute and piano (1946) is his best-known work, and has been a popular staple for flute players since its publication, but little else of his oeuvre is well known. Sancan also composed a Violin Concerto, at least three ballets, a Symphony for Strings (1961), and an opera Ondine (1962). Some of his shorter piano pieces, such as Boîte à musique and the Toccata, have caught on a encore pieces.
Sancan sought to reconcile contemporary performance techniques with the harmonic language of Debussy, a composer of whom Sancan was an expert interpreter.