THE PERFORMER’S INFLUENCE ON FRANCO-BELGIAN COMPOSITIONS FROM 1870 TO 1930
THE PERFORMER’S INFLUENCE ON FRANCO-BELGIAN COMPOSITIONS FROM 1870 TO 1930
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Date
2012
Authors
Chicheportiche, Anne
Advisor
Salness, David
Citation
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Abstract
The turn of the 20th century marked an ascendancy of the Franco-Belgian school
of composers. French composers were inspired by the great German composers of the
Romantic era, and they created their own defined national style that emerged toward the
end of the 19th century. The Franco-Belgian composers’ special emphasis on tone, timbre
and color encouraged a more individual, personally interpretative approach. These
devices underscore the importance and influence a performer can have on the outcome of
a piece. I researched the relationship between composers and violinists at a time when
the Franco-Belgian style developed and flourished. The Franco-Belgian school of violin
playing emerged from the Paris and Brussels conservatories as well as the symbiotic
relationship between the performers and composers.
Three recitals in collaboration with pianist David Ballena, which comprise this
dissertation project, were performed at the University of Maryland. Each recital featured
music for violin and piano from 1870 through 1930. The repertoire was chosen to reflect
a performer’s influence on a composer. I examined specific composer/performer
relationships that helped shape the birth of a newly defined “French” style of playing.
My research focused on the stylistic interactions composers, such as César Franck, his
disciple Guillaume Lekeu had with the leading prominent Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaye
and between Maurice Ravel and the Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Aranyi. I also looked
into the personal relationship between friends who inspired each other: Gabriel Fauré and
Paul Viardot, Edouard Lalo and Pablo de Sarasate, Claude Debussy and Arthur
Hartmann, and the young Lili Boulanger and Yvonne Astruc. Furthermore, I looked into
the unfulfilled love between Maurice Ravel and Hélène Jourdan-Morhange, as well as the
marriage of Olivier Messiaen with Claire Delbos, both relationships resulting in
masterpieces for violin that have remained a part of the standard violin repertoire.
My research led me to understand what type of violin playing each composer had
in mind while composing, all of which led me to understand the importance a performer
has in preserving national styles. The recitals were recorded on compact discs and
archived within the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).