René Herbin

René Herbin (1911 – 1 September 1953) was a French composer and pianist, who died accidentally in the Mount Cimet air disaster in the French Alps.[1]

For other uses, see Herbin.

Life

Born in Vitry-le-François, Herbin entered the Conservatoire de Paris at 14 years old. There he studied piano with Isidore Philipp and composition with Noël Gallon and Henri Busser. He won two First Prizes. At 26, he accompanied the cellist Maurice Maréchal on a tour of the Middle East. But the war broke out and Herbin was mobilized in 1939. He was taken prisoner in Germany where he remained in captivity for nearly 5 years in several forced labour camps. Interned in very precarious conditions, he nevertheless managed to write many works: a Sonata for violin and piano, Deïrdre des Douleurs for chamber orchestra, Sonata for piano, Album d'images, Preludes baroques, for piano. Returning to Paris in 1945, he resumed his activities as a pianist and composer, and premiered his first piano quartet in 1949 with the Trio Pasquier.[2] In the early 1950s, the State and Radio placed orders with him. It was on this occasion that he composed Trois Songes pour orchestre (1951) and the Concerto pour piano (1952) whose posthumous premiere was ensured in 1956 by Vlado Perlemuter.

Tragic end

On September 1, 1953, René Herbin, accompanied by the violinist Jacques Thibaud, boarded the Paris-Saigon flight, the city where the musicians were expected to perform in concert. As they approached the planned stopover at Nice airport, their plane crashed on mount Cimet in the French Alps. There were no survivors among the 42 people on board.

Association

In 1992, Elizabeth Herbin,[3] pianist and daughter of the composer, founded the Société Musicale René Herbin,[4] which was then presided by Vlado Perlemuter and Henri Dutilleux. Its purpose is to make the man and his work known, and to disseminate his music, which is still too confidential and not very well recorded. It thus repairs what the untimely death of a 42-year-old musician recognized by his peers,[5] took away from the French musical life of the first half of the 20th century.

Compositions

List of works by Herbin.

  • 1929: Toccata
  • 1929-1930: 12 Préludes, for piano
  • 1930: Fantaisie, for piano
  • 1934: Ballade, for piano
  • 1934-1935: 6 Études de haute virtuosité, for piano
  • 1936: 6 pièces en forme de suite, for violin and piano
  • 1936: Poème, for piano and cello
  • 1940: Album d'images, for piano
  • 1940-1941: 2 divertissements, for piano (Max Eschig)
  • 1940-1941: Préludes baroques, for piano
  • 1941: Préambule pour le "Chapeau chinois" de Franc Nohain, for piano, string quintet, flute, clarinet in Bb
  • 1941: Préambule pour le "Chapeau chinois" de Franc Nohain, for piano, violin and cello
  • 1942: Sonata for piano
  • 1942: Sonata for violin and piano
  • 1943: 3 Préludes baroques, for 2 pianos (author's transcription)
  • 1943: Miniatures, for violin and piano [lost piano part]
  • 1943: Suite fantasque, for piano
  • 1944: Deïrdre des douleurs, for flute and piano (transcription by the author)
  • 1944: Deïrdre des douleurs, version for chamber orchestra
  • 1944: La mort et le pendu, for grand orchestre
  • 1945: Burlesque, for clarinet in B flat and String Quartet
  • 1945: Burlesque for piano and clarinet in B flat (transcription by the author)
  • 1945: Mirages, for oboe and piano
  • 1946: Thème et variation, for piano
  • 1948: La mort et le pendu, for 2 pianos (author's transcription)
  • 1948: La mort et le pendu, for 4-handed piano
  • 1948: Poulenc-adagietto, for 2 pianos (transcription)
  • 1948: Prière, for piano
  • 1948: Prières, for string quartet
  • 1949: 1st Piano Quartet
  • 1949: Baptême, for flute and piano (transcription by the author)
  • 1949: Baptême, for piano, flute, oboe, violin, cello and harp (premiere with Lily Laskine)
  • 1949: Sonata for piano and cello
  • 1950: Petite suite Radio française, for piano
  • 1950: Petites pièces, for piano
  • 1950: Petite suite Radio-française "dans l'esprit" des vieux contes français, for grand orchestre (commande de Radio-France) (premiered by Manuel Rosenthal)
  • 1951: Divertissement, for chamber orchestra (commission from Radio-France)
  • 1951: Divertissement, for piano, 2 violins, cello, double bass and drums
  • 1951: Divertissement, for violin and piano (author's transcription)
  • 1951: Dona Rosita ou le langage des fleurs, for piano, 2 violins and cello (transcription by the author)
  • 1951: Dona Rosita ou le langage des fleurs, for voice and piano
  • 1951: Trois songes, for large orchestra (commissioned by the State)
  • 1951: 4 impromptus, for piano
  • 1952: Concerto pour piano et orchestre (commissioned by the State) (premiered by Vlado Perlemuter)
  • 1952: Polka, for 4-handed piano (transcription by the author). Dona Rosita)
  • 1953: Dance for piano and saxophone in Eb (Billaudot) premiered by Vlado Perlemuter)
  • 1953: Rossini-boutique-fantasque, for 2 pianos (transcription)
  • 1953: Une fausse gavotte, for piano and clarinet in B flat(Billaudot)

Recordings

References
  1. Website of the Long-Thibaut-Crespin competition
  2. Trio Pasquier on BnF
  3. Elizabeth Herbin, pianist and daughter of the composer
  4. In memoriam
  5. See Alexandre Tansman's commentary on Herbin's official website
  6. Mark Drobinsky
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