Jean-Rodolphe Kars
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Jean-Rodolphe Kars (born 1947) is an Indian-born French pianist of Austrian Jewish origin, who became a Catholic priest of the Catholic Emmanuel Community.[1]
Biography
The parents of Jean-Rodolphe Kars were both Viennese Jews who had fled Austria after the
Deciding that Europe would offer their children the possibility of a superior education, the Kars family left India for France. They lived for some years in a small town in the Haute Loire, but eventually settled in Paris where Gustav found employment in a private Jewish school. The family's circumstances were quite modest, but Jean-Rodolphe's musical ability was obvious; he gained entrance to the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied from 1958–64. He also studied with Julius Katchen. From 1974, Jean-Rodolphe Kars studied with the French pianist and pedagogue Jean Fassina, the most important and inspiring teaching, according to Kars, in his musical formation.[citation needed]
At the age of 19, Jean-Rodolphe Kars took part in the second
Kars' London debut was in 1967; in 1968 he was awarded first prize in the Olivier Messiaen piano competition.[citation needed]
During this time the Kars family lived in a working-class area of Paris called quartier Alésia, in an apartment so cramped that the piano and a tiny bath installation (isolated by a curtain) had to be kept in the same room. In 1971, he partook in a well received tour of Southern Africa.[2]
Kars' upbringing had been that of a secular Jew; in 1976, however, he converted to Catholicism and was baptised at
Although he possessed a varied and eclectic repertoire, ranging from Bach to Schoenberg, Kars then specialized in the works of Olivier Messiaen. Later, as a priest, he also lectured and wrote articles on the spiritual and theological aspects of the music of the great French composer. Having begun to study Messiaen's music and writings as long ago as 1966, Kars credits him with playing an important role in his eventual conversion to Catholicism and his vocation as a priest, and considers him his 'first spiritual father'.[citation needed]
Recordings
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Debussy: Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra
Jean-Rodolphe Kars (Piano); Sir Alexander Gibson; London Symphony Orchestra (DECCA)
Debussy: Preludes for Piano, Book 1; Book 2[3]
Jean-Rodolphe Kars (Piano) (DECCA)
Delius: Concerto for Piano in C minor
Jean-Rodolphe Kars (Piano); Sir Alexander Gibson; London Symphony Orchestra (DECCA)
Schoenberg: Three Piano pieces Op 11; Six Little Piano Pieces Op 19; Five Piano pieces Op 23; Suite for Piano Op 25; Piano Pieces Op 33a and b
Jean-Rodolphe Kars (Piano) (EMI France, C 065 12870; 1975)
Messiaen: "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus". Jean-Rodolphe Kars (piano) (Piano classics, 2017) Recording of a concert given by Jean-Rodolphe Kars in 1976 in Amsterdam.
Writings
- Père Jean-Rodolphe Kars: 'Hommage a Olivier Messiaen', in Olivier Messiaen, homme de foi, regard sur son œuvre d’orgue (Trinité Média Communication, 1995).
- Père Jean-Rodolphe Kars: 'Das Werk Olivier Messiaens und die katholische Liturgie', in Olivier Messiaen. La Cite celeste – das himmlische Jerusalem. Über das Leben und Werk des französischen Komponisten (Köln Wienand Verlag, 1998).
- Père Jean-Rodolphe Kars: 'The Spirituality of Messiaen's Organ Works', Organists Review, November 2008.
References
- ^ Billboard, 6 November 1971
- ^ Jean-Rudolphe Kars 1971, touring Southern Africa
- The Evening Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2011.