Le Havre 1 0-III-1892 • Paris 27-XI-1955
Son of Swiss parents, he studied at the Zurich Conservatory and with D'Ody, Gedalge, and Widor in Paris. In 1916 he joined the group "Les Nouveaux Jeunes" headed by Satie and Cocteau, who had to take the name of "Groupe des Six a little later. In 1920 he highlighted himself with the Pastorali d'été, and soon detached himself from the group to continue the composer's activity on his own. In the "1920s," he reached great notoriety, placing himself among the most avant-garde composers in France.
During the Second World War, he taught for some time at the Normal Ecole de Musique in Paris.
Symphony N. 4 ("Deliciae Basilienses") (1946)
The subtitle is due to the fact that the symphony was dedicated to Paul Sacher, the well-known director of the Basel Chamber Orchestra, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of its complex. Although it has been composed almost simultaneously with the previous symphony, here, we find a completely different atmosphere, serene, playful, and "transparent in writing how harsh and severe it was. In short, this composition seems to refer to the spirit of the 18th century, while at the end of the second half, there is even the literal summons (first horn) of a popular song of Basel, to which, moreover, the central song is inspired.
The succession of the three times is: "Slow and mysterious-Allegro", "Larghetto," and "Allegro-adagio" (the latter is the most elaborate part of the symphony, based on the shapes of the rondo, the passacaglia and the escape: here too The author introduces a Swiss popular song).
