Alexandre Tansman (June 12, 1897, Łódź–November 15, 1986) was a prolific composer and virtuoso pianist. He spent his early years in his native Poland, but lived in France for most of his life. His music is primarily neoclassical, drawing on his Polish and Jewish heritage as well as his French musical influences. June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Łódź (pronunciation: ), Polands third-largest city (population 776,297 in 2004), lies in the center of the country. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason...

Life

Though he began his musical studies at the Łódź Conservatory, his doctoral study was in law at the University of Warsaw. Shortly after completing his studies, Tansman moved to Paris, where his musical ideas were accepted and encouraged by mentors and musical influences Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel, as opposed to the more conservative musical climate in his native Poland. While in Paris, Tansman associated with a crowd of foreign-born musicians known as the École de Paris; though Honegger and Milhaud tried to persuade him to join Les Six, he declined, stating a need for creative independence. (Tansman later wrote a biography of Stravinsky that was extremely well-received.) Warsaw University (Polish Uniwersytet Warszawski) - the biggest and one of the most prestigious universities in Poland. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский Igor Fjodorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer of modern classical music. ... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, known especially for the subtlety, richness, and poignancy of his music and generally considered to be one of the major composers of the 20th century. ... School of Paris (École de Paris) refers to two distinct groups of artists — a group of medieval manuscript illuminators, and a group of non-French artists working in Paris before World War I. Additionally, it refers to a similar group of artists living in Paris between the two world wars. ... Arthur Honegger in 1921. ... Darius Milhaud (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French-Jewish composer and teacher. ... Le Groupe des Six, 1922, by Jacques-Emile Blanche. ...

Tansman always described himself as a Polish composer, though he spoke French at home and married a French pianist, Colette Cras. In 1941, fleeing Europe as his Jewish background put him in danger with Hitler's rise to power, he moved to Los Angeles (thanks to the efforts of his friend Charlie Chaplin in getting him a visa), where he made the acquaintance of Arnold Schoenberg. Though he returned to Paris after the war, his disappearance from the European musical scene left him behind the musical currents of the time, and no longer fresh in the minds of the public, which slowed his previously fast-rising career. Hitler redirects here. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, Jr, KBE, (April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977), better known as Charlie Chaplin, was a British comedy actor, becoming the most famous actor in the early to mid Hollywood cinema era, and also a notable director. ... An entry visa valid in all Schengen treaty countries Visas for Laos, Thailand, and Sri Lanka A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1938 Schoenberg redirects here. ...

No longer in tune with the French fashions, which had moved on to the avant-garde style, Tansman returned to his musical roots, drawing on his Jewish and Polish background to create some of his greatest works. During this time he began to reestablish connections to Poland, though his career and family kept him in France, where he lived until his death in 1986. A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ...

Today the Alexandre Tansman Competition for promising musicians is held in his honor every other year in his birthplace of Łódź, in order to promote his music and the local culture.

Music

Tansman was not only an internationally-recognized composer but a virtuoso pianist. From 1932-33 Tansman performed worldwide for audiences including Emperor Hirohito and Mahatma Gandhi; he was regarded as one of the greatest Polish musicians. Later he performed five concert tours in the United States, including as a soloist under Serge Koussevitsky's baton with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as having a thriving career in France as a concert performer. Hirohito (裕仁), the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇), (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. ... // Early life Gandhi and his wife Kasturba (1902) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into a Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, Gujarat, India in 1869. ... Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky (July 26, 1874 – June 4, 1951), better known as Serge, was a Russian-born conductor. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ...

Tansman's music is written in the French neoclassical style of his adopted home, and the Polish styles of his birthplace, drawing on his Jewish heritage. Already on the edge of musical thought when he left Poland (critics questioned his chromatic and sometimes polytonal writing), he adopted the extended harmonies of Ravel in his work and later was compared to Alexander Scriabin in his departure from converntional tonality. Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason... The chromatic scale is the scale that contains all twelve pitches of the Western tempered scale. ... The use of more than one key simultaneously is known in music as polytonality. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин, Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin or Skrjabin) (6 January 1872–27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. ...

One of Tansman's letters states that "it is obvious that I owe much to France, but anyone who has ever heard my compositions cannot have doubt that I have been, am and forever will be a Polish composer." After Chopin, Tansman may be the leading proponent of traditional Polish forms such as the polonaise and the mazurka; they were inspired by and often written in homage to Chopin. For these pieces, which ranged from lighthearted miniatures to virtuoso showpieces, Tansman drew on traditional Polish folk themes and adapted them to his distinctive neoclassical style. However, he did not write straight settings of the folk songs themselves, as he states in a radio interview: "I have never used an actual Polish folk song in its original form, nor have I tried to reharmonize one. I find that modernizing a popular song spoils it. It must be preserved in its original harmonization." Frédéric François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... Typical rhythm of a Polonaise The polonaise (Polish: polonez, chodzony; Italian: polacca) is a rather slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. ... The mazurka (Polish: mazurek, probably named after Polands Mazury district) is a Polish folk dance in triple time with a lively tempo, containing a heavy accent on the third or second beat. ...

He is perhaps best known for his guitar pieces, mostly written for Andrés Segovia—in particular the Suite in modo polonico (1962), a collection of Polish dances. Segovia frequently performed the work in recordings and on tour; it is today part of the standard repertoire. Tansman's music has been performed as showpieces by some of the world's most renowned musicians, including Segovia, Walter Gieseking, José Iturbi, Jane Bathori, József Szigeti, Pablo Casals, and Gregor Piatigorsky. Andres Segovia classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, Marques de Salobreña (February 21, 1893 – June 3, 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist and is considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement by most modern scholars. ... Walter Wilhelm Gieseking (November 5, 1895 – October 26, 1956) was a German pianist and composer. ... Jose Iturbi photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Jose Iturbi (November 28, 1895 - June 28, 1980) was a Spanish conductor and pianist. ... Jane Bathori (June 14, 1877 - January 25, 1970) was a French opera singer. ... Joseph Szigeti (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973) was a Hungarian violinist. ... Pau Carlos Salvador Casals i Defilló (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973), commonly known as Pablo Casals, was a virtuoso Catalan cello player (and later conductor). ... Gregor Piatigorsky (April 17, 1903 – August 6, 1976) was a Russian cellist. ...

Selected works

Tansman's many hundreds of compositions include these:

• 8 mélodies japonaises, voice and orchestra (1918)
• Le jardin du paradis, ballet, (1922)
• Légende, orchestra (1923)
• La nuit kurde, opera (1927)
• Piano Concerto no.2 (1927)
• Rapsodie hébraïque, orchestra (1933)
• Rapsodie polonaise, orchestra (1940)
• The Genesis, narrator and orchestra, collaboration with Schoenberg, Milhaud, Stravinsky, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Toch, Shilkret, after Genesis (1944)
• Isaïe le prophète, choir and orchestra (1950)
• Cavatine, guitar (1950)
• Concerto for Orchestra (1954)
• 4 mouvements symphoniques, orchestra (1956)
• Sabbataï Zévi, le faux messie, opera, (1957–8)
• Psaumes, tenor solo, choir, and orchestra (1960–61)
• Suite in modo polonico, guitar (1962)
• Hommage à Chopin, guitar (1966)
• Stèle in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, orchestra (1972)
• Les dix Commandements, orchestra (1978–9)
• Hommage à Lech Walesa, guitar (1982)
• film music: Poil de Carotte (1932), Flesh and Fantasy (1942), Paris Underground (1945), Destiny (1945), Sister Kenny (1946), The Bargee (1964)
• 9 symphonies (1917, 1926, "Symphonie concertante" 1931, 1939, 1942, "In memoriam" 1944, "Lyrique" 1944,"Musique pour orchestre" 1948, 1957–8)
• 8 string quartets (1917, 1922, 1925, 1935, 1940, 1944, 1947, 1956)

and his 2 works for solo bassoon and piano, which cannot be underestimated in the bassoonists repetoire Darius Milhaud (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French-Jewish composer and teacher. ... Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (April 3, 1895 – March 16, 1968) was an Italian Jewish composer. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... Office President of Poland Term of office from December 22, 1990 until December 23, 1995 Profession Electrician and shipyard worker Political party none, see Solidarity for details Spouse Danuta Wałęsa Date of birth September 29, 1943 Place of birth Popowo, Poland Date of death Place of death Lech Wa...

• Sonatine, bassoon and piano
• Suite, bassoon and piano

References

• Caroline Rae: "Alexandre Tansman". Grove Music Online, ed. L Macy, accessed 21 Mar 05. (subscription access)
• Anne Girardot, Richard Langham Smith: "Alexandre Tansman". Grove Music Online (OperaBase), ed. L Macy, accessed 21 Mar 05. (subscription access)
• usc.edu Polish composers: Tansman
• Tansman competition biography

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ...

External links

• Tansman competition home page
• IMDb entry