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Jean-Michel Defaye

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(Redirected from Jean Michel Defaye) French pianist and composer (1932–2025)

Jean-Michel Defaye
Born(1932-09-18)18 September 1932
Saint-Mandé, France
Died1 January 2025(2025-01-01) (aged 92)
EducationConservatoire de Paris
Occupations
  • Pianist
  • Composer
  • Conductor

Jean-Michel Defaye (18 September 1932 – 1 January 2025) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré.

Life and career

Defaye was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne near Paris, on 18 September 1932. At aged ten he entered the Paris Conservatoire and completed his musical training in theory, piano and composition, taking in Nadia Boulanger's accompaniment class. In 1952 he won second prize of the Grand Prix de Rome; and the following year he won the Lili Boulanger Prize of Harvard and the second prize in composition for the Belgian Queen Elisabeth Competition.

As a composer he wrote mostly for brass, especially trombone; he wrote pieces for trombone and piano in the style of classical composers such as Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Schumann, Stravinsky and Vivaldi. He composed chamber music with brass instruments, pieces for competitions, concertos for clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and trombone, and many educational pieces. His writing was often influenced by jazz.

Defaye wrote several film scores including Pouic-Pouic. As an arranger, he worked for decades with singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. He also collaborated with Juliette Gréco, Zizi Jeanmaire and Les Branquignols [fr].

Defaye died on 1 January 2025, at the age of 92.

Classical compositions

  • Suite Marine
  • Morceau de Concours I (SG 1–2)
  • Morceau de Concours II (SG 3–4)
  • Morceau de Concours III (SG 5)
  • Deux Danses, for trombone and piano (1954)
  • Quatre pièces, for trombones quartet (1954)
  • Sonatine for trumpet and piano (1956)
  • Mouvement, for trombone and piano (1972)
  • Fluctuations, for solo trombone, 6 trombones and 2 percussions (1987)
  • À la manière de Bach, for trombone and piano (1990)
  • Suite entomologique, for trombone and piano (1992)
  • Œuvre de concours I, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • Œuvre de concours II, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • Œuvre de concours III, for trombone and piano (1993)
  • À la manière de Schumann, for trombone and piano (2000)
  • À la manière de Debussy, for trombone and piano (2001)
  • À la manière de Vivaldi, for trombone and piano (2002)
  • À la manière de Stravinsky, for trombone and piano (2005)
  • À la manière de Brahms, for trombone and piano (2011)
  • Musique à Curitiba, for trombone solo and 16 trombones (?)

Discography

Dafaye composed music for albums and recitals by Léo Ferré, including:

References

  1. "Avec Jean-Michel Defaye (1932-) compositeur, arrangeur & chef d'orchestre: "Au départ j'étais pianiste!"". Radio France (in French). 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  2. ^ Cantaux, Elisa (2 January 2025). "Le compositeur français Jean-Michel Defaye, arrangeur de Léo Ferré, est mort à l'âge de 92 ans". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Jean Michel Defaye, Prix de Rome en composition musicale, arrangeur, chef d'orchestre, compositeur de musiques de films. Serge Elhaïk présente "La farandole des percussions"". Radio France (in French). 23 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  4. "Jean-Michel Defaye". Queen Elisabeth Competition. 1953. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  5. Mark, Douglas (24 February 2021). "Eternal Gratitude: A Review". trombone.org. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  6. Hinson, Maurice; Roberts, Wesley (2006). The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: an Annotated Guide. Indiana University Press. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-253-34696-4.

External links

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