Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi

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Calvocoressi, c. 1913

Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi (2 October 1877 – 1 February 1944) was a French-born

musicologist of Greek descent who was a British citizen and resident in England from 1914 onwards.[1] He is especially noted for his writings on Russian classical music, particularly on the life and works of Modest Mussorgsky
, and his close association with the French musical establishment.

Born in Marseille, Calvocoressi learned numerous languages in his youth and attempted various careers before settling on music criticism. His early career was spent as an influential music critic in Paris, where he contributed to English and French newspapers: Gil Blas, the Comoedia Illustré, The Morning Post and The Musical Times, among others. He was well acquainted with the city's musical figures, particularly Maurice Ravel. Alongside Ravel and the pianist Ricardo Viñes, Calvocoressi founded the Apaches musical society.

After serving as a

cryptographer in England for World War I, he remained in London to continue criticism and musicological writing for the rest of his life. Although he wrote his later books in English and came to know English cultural figures such as Arnold Bennett and Ralph Vaughan Williams, his colleague Gerald Abraham remarked that "he never enjoyed the influence and authority in London that he had exercised in Paris".[2] In addition to his writings on Russian music and Mussorgsky, he wrote on the music of Liszt, Glinka, Schumann, Koechlin and Debussy
.

Early life and education

Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi was born in

Lycée Janson de Sailly, Paris, but inspiration from an Orchestre Lamoureux concert of Richard Wagner's works galvanized his interest in music.[4][a]

Alongside his piano lessons with Eugène Claveau, Calvocoressi frequented the Parisian concert scene, with works by

d'Indy, Wagner, and the Romantic Russian composers in particular leaving a lasting impression.[4] He began harmony study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Xavier Leroux, where he became friends with the composer Maurice Ravel;[2] Ravel later dedicated "Alborada del gracioso" from the piano suite Miroirs to Calvocoressi.[5][b] Ravel also harmonized a set of Greek folk songs which Calvocoressi translated, known as Cinq mélodies populaires grecques [fr], and may have inspired the composer's piano Sonatine.[7] Like Ravel, Calvocoressi was a member of the Apaches music society.[8][c]

Career and later life

Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi, 1909 (Léon Bakst)

Calvocoressi's music criticism career can be divided into two: a French (1902–1914) and English (1921–1944) period.[12] Described by Abraham as "a remarkable polyglot", Calvocoressi's career beginning in 1902 was as a music critic and correspondent for several English, American, German and Russian periodicals.[2] Encouraged by the novelist Binet-Valmer, the latter introduced him to Octave Maus, an editor of the monthly L'Art Moderne magazine.[4] Calvocoressi became the Paris musical correspondent for L'Art Moderne and music critic for Binet-Valmer's La Renaissance latine magazine; around then he also was music critic for the Anglo-French Weekly Critical Review.[4] Although some of these publications became obsolete in the next few years, Calvocoressi was well established enough to be unaffected.[13] He contributed to other publications and various time: the daily Gil Blas, the fortnightly Comoedia Illustré (part of Comœdia), the daily The Morning Post and particularly monthly Musical Times.[12]

Calvocoressi published his first book—a study on

Schumann (1912).[2]

Calvocoressi paused music criticism at the onset of

cryptographer.[2] He spent the rest of his life in England; he was naturalized and married Ethel Grey, a British citizen who was the dedicatee of many of his future books.[12] These later studies were all in English, and included studies on Koechlin (1923), music criticism (1923), musical taste (1925), recollections of his musical experiences (1933), Debussy (1944) as well on two studies each on Russian music (1936 & 1944) and Mussorgsky specifically (1946 & 1956).[2] Although he continued music criticism in London from 1921 onwards, Abraham remarked that "he never enjoyed the influence and authority in London that he had exercised in Paris".[2] Calvocoressi became well acquainted with "many distinguished Englishmen", including the author Arnold Bennett and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.[2] He died in London on 1 February 1944.[4]

Selected writings

Books

Articles

For other articles by Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi, see § External links.

References

Notes

  1. Lycée Janson de Sailly is variously reported in modern sources. The musicologist Gerald Abraham first records that he studied philosophy under André Lalande,[4] but later says it was classics and that he "entered the law faculty but soon abandoned law".[2]
  2. ^ Ravel later orchestrated this movement in 1919[6]
  3. ^ Other members were the composers Florent Schmitt, Maurice Delage and Paul Ladmirault, the poets Léon-Paul Fargue and Tristan Klingsor and the painter Paul Sordes[9][10][11]

Citations

  1. ^ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Abraham 2001.
  3. ^ Jacobs 2002, § para. 1.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Abraham 1944, p. 83.
  5. ^ Huebner 2011, pp. 20–21.
  6. ^ Kelly 2001.
  7. ^ Abraham 1944, pp. 84–45.
  8. ^ Goubault 1984, p. 40.
  9. ^ Pasler 1982, p. 403.
  10. ^ Nichols 1977, p. 20.
  11. ^ Orenstein 1991, p. 28.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Abraham 1944, p. 84.
  13. ^ Abraham 1944, pp. 83–84.

Sources

Books
Articles

Further reading

External links

Library resources
By Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi
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