Widor: Piano Trio, Op. 19 / Piano Quintet, Op. 7

Description

Charles-Marie Widor (1844 - 1937)Quintet in D minor, Op.7 Trio in B flat major, Op.19Those who knew him characterized Charles-Marie Widor as a man of captivating personality. Behind a façade of natural reserve, he was both witty and warm-hearted, energetic yet spiritual. He took a lively interest in literature and in all the arts, and he was a well-informed and entertaining companion. The musicians with whom he was personally acquainted spanned the generations from Rossini to Milhaud. Among his closest colleagues he counted Gounod, Delibes, Massenet and Saint-Saëns. As a teacher he was both exacting and dedicated, and his efforts proved of enormous importance: among the organists he trained one can cite Charles Tournemire, Marcel Dupré and Albert Schweitzer; among his composition students the names Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud stand out. As a composer he cultivated those values that have long been prized in France and associated with French art of all kinds: logic, clarity, moderation and balance. In sophistication and consummate mastery, his music can best be compared to that of Saint-Saëns. In 1914 Widor was appointed permanent secretary of the Académie des Beaux Arts, one of the highest honours that can be accorded a French musician.During a long and prolific career Widor composed in all genres. He has to his credit two ballets, La korrigane and Jeanne d'Arc, three operas, Maître Ambros, Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean and Nerto, and incidental music to Conte d'Avril and Les Jacobites. He wrote two symphonies for orchestra and three for organ and orchestra, the symphonic poem La Nuit de Walpurgis, an Ouverture espagnole and five concerted works, including concertos for piano and cello. He also composed music for piano solo, sacred and secular vocal works and a large body of chamber music. All this, now largely neglected, has been eclipsed by his towering reputation as a composer of organ music.It is natural that Widor’s earliest musical experiences would involve the organ. His grandfather was an organ-builder, of Hungarian descent. His father carried on the family profession and became a performer as well. From him Widor received his first musical instruction. He continued his studies in Brussels with Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens, a distinguished organist and teacher who traced his musical lineage directly to Bach and passed on to him the authoritative, German tradition of Bach interpretation. While in Brussels the young Widor further expanded his musical horizons by studying composition with the renowned François-Joseph Fétis.Returning to Paris, Widor succeeded Léfébure-Wély in 1870 as organist at Saint-Sulpice and held that position for 64 years, yielding it at age ninety to Marcel Dupré. He assumed Franck's post as professor of organ at the Paris Conservatoire in 1890 and six years later succeeded Théodore Dubois duties as professor of composition.As