Description

MICHEL QUÉVAL (ROUEN, FRANCE, APRIL 18, 1929 – BOULOU, FRANCE, JANUARY 23, 2005)

His father Roger Quéval was an accordionist and music merchant. As a child, he was part of the Maîtrise Saint-Evode of Rouen Cathedral under the direction of Canon Robert Delestre, who directed his career. He arranged, conducted and recorded variety music under various pseudonyms: Jeff W. Higginbothom, Archie X. Morrison, Michel de Faria, Célestin Vichi, Bob Softhorn… He also made arrangements for the group of “Bass’Harmonistes” (Pathé recordings ). It is he who holds the piano in a number of soundtracks for films by Michel Legrand. He obtained a first prize for piano first appointed to the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris in the class of Jean Doyen and also follows the classes of chamber music, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, analysis. He was awarded the Grand Prize for Interpretation of Spanish music. From then on, he toured Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy. He is behind the creation of the Assartx Conservatory of La Celle Saint Cloud. Michel Quéval entered the National Theater of the Paris Opera as a solo pianist, to play all works for solo piano and orchestra. In 1968, at the suggestion of Manuel Rosenthal, director Emmanuel Bondeville appointed him to the post of conductor. He has since directed numerous ballets with the Paris Opera and collaborated with the most prestigious choreographers: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Maurice Béjart, Roland Petit, Léonide Massine, Merce Cunningham, Carolyn Carlson, William Forsythe, Rudolf Nureyev. He has conducted at the Bolshoi, Kirov, Covent Garden, La Scala, Geneva, Sadler’s Wells, New York, the Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Helsinki, the Monte-Carlo Opera Carlo, etc., where he has performed with orchestras such as the Basler Festival Orchester, the Orchester de l’Opéra national de Paris, the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra, the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, etc. Since 1972, Michel Quéval has been musical director of the Tokyo ballet and guest conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He taught analysis at the CNSM in Paris where he trained many students including Franck T’Hézan, Damien Top, Jérôme Corréas, Till Fechner, etc. He composed works for piano ( Neutral pieces ), for two pianos ( Brazilian Suite ), for violin and piano (6 pieces), for string quartet (Prélude and Scherzo). In 2003 he founded the Catalan Orchestra in order to combat cultural desertification in rural areas. He is the father of Laurent Queval, former dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet. Most of its musical archives are kept at the Center International Albert Roussel.

TRACKLIST

1. Consolations, S. 172 Penseés poétiques No. 3 in D-Flat Major, Lento placido (Liszt)
2. Harmonies Poétiques Et Religieuses, S. 173 No. 7, Funérailles, Pt. 1 (Liszt)
3. Harmonies Poétiques Et Religieuses, S. 173 No. 7, Funérailles, Pt. 2 (Liszt)
4. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 1, Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Schumann)
5. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 2, Kuriose Geschichte (Schumann)
6. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 3, Hasche-Mann  (Schumann)
7. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 4, Bittendes Kind  (Schumann)
8. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 5, Glückes genug  (Schumann)
9. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 6, Wichtige Begebenheit  (Schumann)
10. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 7, Träumerei  (Schumann)
11. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 8, Am Kamin  (Schumann)
12. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 9, Ritter vom Steckenpferd  (Schumann)
13. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 11, Fürchtenmachen  (Schumann)
14. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 12, Kind im Einschlummern  (Schumann)
15. Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 13, Der Dichter spricht  (Schumann)
16. Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 The Dance in the Village Inn Pt. 1 (Liszt)
17. Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 The Dance in the Village Inn Pt. 2 (Liszt)
18. Rêve D’amour, S. 541 No. 3 In A-Flat Major, Oh Lieb, So Lang Du Lieben Kannst (Liszt)
19. Sonate pour piano No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Clair de lune I. Adagio sostenuto (Beethoven)
20. Sonate pour piano No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Clair de lune II. Allegretto (Beethoven)
21. Sonate pour piano No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Clair de lune III. Presto agitato (Beethoven)