Stamp of the Month: May 2020

Gabriel Fauré

The French composer Gabriel Fauré was born in Pamiers on May 12, 1845. He died in Paris on November 4, 1924. In May 2020, his birthday turns 175.
 
As the son of a school principal, Fauré received music lessons at an early age and was admitted to the church music school in Paris at the age of nine.

France 25.6.1966
From 1861 he was taught by the 10 years older Camille Saint-Saëns, with whom he remained friends for the rest of his life. In 1870 he got an organist position in Paris and in 1871 he was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale de Musique. He gave piano lessons, worked with several choirs and in the evenings he was a brilliant piano improviser in the Parisian salons. In 1892 he was appointed “Inspector for Music Lessons” and in 1896 he became titular organist of the large organ on the Madeleine as well as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory, which he headed from 1905 to 1920. His students included Nadia Boulanger, George Enescu and Maurice Ravel.
As a composer, Gabriel Fauré primarily created vocal, piano and chamber music. One of his greatest successes was the opera Pénélope, which was premiered on May 9, 1913 during the opening of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

 
The video shows Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane” op. 50 arranged for the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic by Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann.