Yvonne Loriod
Encyclopedia
Yvonne Loriod was a French
pianist
, teacher, and composer
, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen
. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot
player Jeanne Loriod
.
, Yvelines
, France
. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire and became one of Olivier Messiaen
's most avid pupils. She also studied with Marcel Ciampi
and Isidor Philipp
. At the age of 25, she was appointed professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She went on to become a nationally acclaimed recording artist and concert pianist, and premiered most of Messiaen's works for the piano, starting in the 1940s. Messiaen said that he was able to indulge in "the greatest eccentricities", when writing for piano, knowing that they would be mastered by Loriod. Both she and her sister Jeanne often performed as the soloists in his Turangalîla-Symphonie
. Loriod also orchestrated part of Messiaen's final orchestral work, Concert à quatre
.
In 1961, Loriod married Olivier Messiaen following the death of his first wife, Claire Delbos
. She is generally considered to be the most important interpreter of Messiaen's piano works. In her later years, she and Messiaen acted as mentors to the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard
, who has since become a great champion of the works of Messiaen.
Messiaen died in April 1992. Yvonne Loriod survived him by 18 years, dying on 17 May 2010 at Saint-Denis
, Paris, aged 86.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
pianist
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:...
, teacher, and 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 the second wife of composer 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...
. Her sister was 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...
player Jeanne Loriod
Jeanne Loriod
Jeanne Loriod was a French musician, regarded as the world's leading exponent of the ondes Martenot.Born in Houilles, Yvelines, she was the younger sister of Yvonne Loriod, the pianist and second wife of Olivier Messiaen. She performed all of Messiaen's works for ondes Martenot, most notably the...
.
Life
Loriod was born in HouillesHouilles
Houilles is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
, Yvelines
Yvelines
Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire and became one of 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...
's most avid pupils. She also studied with Marcel Ciampi
Marcel Ciampi
Marcel Paul Maximin Ciampi was a French pianist and teacher. He held the longest tenure in the history of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and also became head of piano classes at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England...
and 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:...
. At the age of 25, she was appointed professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She went on to become a nationally acclaimed recording artist and concert pianist, and premiered most of Messiaen's works for the piano, starting in the 1940s. Messiaen said that he was able to indulge in "the greatest eccentricities", when writing for piano, knowing that they would be mastered by Loriod. Both she and her sister Jeanne often performed as the soloists in his Turangalîla-Symphonie
Turangalîla-Symphonie
The Turangalîla-Symphonie is a large-scale piece of orchestral music by Olivier Messiaen. It was written from 1946 to 1948, on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The premiere was given by that orchestra on December 2, 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein in Boston...
. Loriod also orchestrated part of Messiaen's final orchestral work, Concert à quatre
Concert à quatre
Concert à quatre is one of the final works of the French composer Olivier Messiaen.Written between 1990 and 1991, Messiaen originally intended the piece to have five movements. However, work on another large-scale piece, Éclairs sur l'au-delà…, prevented him from completing it before his death...
.
In 1961, Loriod married Olivier Messiaen following the death of his first wife, Claire Delbos
Claire Delbos
Claire Delbos was a French violinist and composer, and first wife of the composer Olivier Messiaen.-Biography:...
. She is generally considered to be the most important interpreter of Messiaen's piano works. In her later years, she and Messiaen acted as mentors to the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a French pianist. He was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio....
, who has since become a great champion of the works of Messiaen.
Messiaen died in April 1992. Yvonne Loriod survived him by 18 years, dying on 17 May 2010 at Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, Paris, aged 86.
Compositions
- Pièce sur la souffrance, for orchestra
- Mélopées africaines, for Ondes Martenot, piano and flute (1945)
- Grains de cendre, for soprano and chamber orchestra (1946)
Publications
- Messiaen, Olivier. Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie (1949–1992) ("Treatise on rhythm, colour and ornithology"), completed by Yvonne Loriod. 7 parts bound in 8 volumes. Paris: Leduc, 1994–2002.
- Messiaen, Olivier. Analyses of the Piano Works of Maurice Ravel, edited by Yvonne Loriod, translated by Paul Griffiths. [Paris]: Durand, 2005.
Selected recordings
- Olivier Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
- Label: Erato, 4509-91705-2
- 3 August 1993
- Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphonie
- Label: Deutsche Grammophon, 31781
- 12 May 1992
External links
- [ Discography] at www.allmusic.com
- Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen profile and discography at www.oliviermessiaen.org
- Daily Telegraph: Obituary
- The Guardian: Obituary
- "Yvonne Loriod, Pianist and Messiaen Muse, Dies at 86" in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
18 May 2010