# Gabriel Pierné



## Portamento

*Gabriel Pierné* (1863-1937) has been called the most complete French musician of the late Romantic/early twentieth century era. In his own music Pierné blended a seriousness of purpose (acquired in part through his studies with César Franck) with a lighter, more popular flavor reminiscent of Jules Massenet (with whom Pierné also studied); his dedication to the music of his contemporary French composers earned him a reputation as a conductor of deep integrity.

Pierné was born in 1863 in the town of Metz. He displayed great musical promise as a child, and by 1871 he had entered the Paris Conservatoire to study composition with Massenet and organ with Franck (Franck's organ class, however, often focusing more on composing than on playing). At age 11 Pierné earned a medal for his solfège skills, and he later went on to win top prizes in organ, composition, and piano, as well as (in 1882) the coveted _Prix de Rome_ (for the cantata _Edith_).

In 1890 Pierné succeeded his teacher, Franck, as organist at St. Clotilde cathedral, a distinct honor for a young man of 27. In the late 1890s he abandoned his career as an organist and in 1903 made his debut as assistant conductor of the Concerts Colonne (of which he served as principal conductor from 1910 to 1934, devoting a great deal of rehearsal time to the preparation of new works). In addition to his activities on the podium, Pierné served on the administration of the Paris Conservatoire and composed for the _Ballet Russes_ (three successful ballets produced between 1923 and 1934). In the years prior to his death in 1937 he was elected to the _Académie des Beaux Arts_ and made a _Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur_.

Pierné's output as a composer, while by no means as vast as some of his Parisian colleagues (one thinks in particular of Saint-Saëns), includes entries in most of the standard genres; in typically French style, he avoided symphonic form in favor of orchestral poems and character pieces. While Pierné's large-scale works, such as the 1897 oratorio _L'an mil_ and the opera _Vendée_ from the same year, showcase a solid grasp of musical architecture, the smaller chamber works (sonatas for both violin and cello and a String Quintet, among other pieces), are more indicative of his exceptional facility.

―AllMusic​
_A few more notes about Pierné:_

This composer's music holds a special place is my "listening repertoire" for it's uniqueness and vivid exotism, similar to works by Delage. Personal favorites include his aforementioned Violin Sonata, the Piano Quintet, _Sonate en une partie_ for cello and piano, _Divertissement sur un theme pastoral_, and finally the enchanting _Variations libres et final_:

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―Portamento


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## Portamento

Anyone else on TC familiar with Pierné?


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## Bulldog

I'm familiar with his piano quintet and a few other chamber works. So far, I'd say he's a most agreeable composer whose music I find rather comforting and filled with enjoyable phrasing and melodies. If I'm on the right track, I remember a saxophone work having an introduction and a few variations; don't recall the name but it was enchanting.


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## Portamento

Bulldog said:


> If I'm on the right track, I remember a saxophone work having an introduction and a few variations; don't recall the name but it was enchanting.


You must be referring to his _Introduction et Variations sur une Ronde Populaire_ (for saxophone quartet), composed at the very end of Pierné's life. Fine work, but I think that, if one of Pierné's compositions deserves to be recognized as a 'masterpiece', then it would have to be his Piano Quintet. Piers Lane and the Goldner String Quartet gives it a first-rate performance in this CD.


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## Pugg

Portamento said:


> Anyone else on TC familiar with Pierné?


Not that much, I do have the piano concerto in the Hyperion series .


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## cybernaut

Just discovered Pierne today and am loving his music. Currently listening to the lovely sonata for cello and piano in F# minor.


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## Josquin13

I first discovered the music of Gabriel Pierné through his involvement with the Ballets Russes, both as a conductor and a composer. For me, his best work remains his magical 1914-15 two act ballet "Cydalise et le chèvre-pied" (or "Cydalise and the Satyr"), with its wonderful combination of a wordless chorus and orchestra, much in the same vein as Ravel's 1912 ballet "Daphnis et Chloe", and Nikolai Tcherepnin's 1911 "Narcisse et Echo"; which were likewise composed for Diaghilev & the Ballets Russes. However, due to World War 1, the premiere of Pierné's ballet was delayed until 1923, when it was premiered at the Paris Opera.

--The complete ballet was recorded in 2001 by conductor David Shallon and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg for the Timpani label: 




Three years after the premiere in 1923, Pierné turned his ballet into two suites for orchestra, and I enjoy listening to those as well. My favorite recording is by conductor Jean-Baptiste Mari and the Orchestre National de L'Opéra (or Paris Opera orchestra) on EMI:

Suite No. 1





Suite No. 2





"The March of the Fauns" from the ballet will be easily recognizable to many listeners, as it is sometimes excerpted & performed as a separate piece. There is a recording from Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra of the excerpt, for instance: 




There is also a 1931 recording by Pierné himself conducting L'Orchestre Colonne in excerpts from the orchestral suites: 



. (Interestingly, Pierné also conducted the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird in 1910, for Diaghilev & the Ballets Russes.)

Here are links to Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" and Tcherepnin's "Narcisse et Echo", if anyone's interested in doing some fascinating comparative listening in regards to what were likely two of Pierne's important influences for "Cydalise":










Although the original influence for the wordless singing chorus in all three ballets (or at least for Tcherepnin & Ravel's) is most likely the female chorus in Claude Debussy's Sirènes movement from his 1899 Trois Nocturnes (or Three Nocturnes), L. 91, which was premiered 1901: 



. I believe I can also hear the influence of Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and his opera, "Pelleas et Melisande" in parts of "Cydalise", as well.


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## david johnson

I am not very knowledgeable about him. Didn't he conduct the premier of Stravinsky's "Firebird"?


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