French family of musicians. Luis (Louis) Casadesus (b Paris, 26 March 1850; d Paris, 19 June 1919), a printer and accountant of Catalan origin, was an amateur violinist and guitarist and published a tutor, L’enseignement moderne de la guitare (Paris, 1913). Of his numerous children, seven became professional musicians; in addition to (1) Francis, (2) Henri and (3) Marius (all discussed below), Robert-Guillaume (b Paris, 23 Jan 1878; d Paris, 1 June 1940) was an actor, singer and composer who wrote operettas and songs, and Marcel (Louis Lucien) (b Paris, 31 Oct 1882; d 31 Oct 1914) was a cellist and viol player, member of the Capet Quartet and of the Société des Instruments Anciens Casadesus; he was killed in World War I.
(1) Francis [François] (Louis) Casadesus
(3) Marius (Robert Max) Casadesus
(5) Gaby [Gabrielle] Casadesus [née L’Hôte]
Hommage à Francis Casadesus (Paris, 1950)
C. Cudworth: ‘Ye Olde Spuriosity Shoppe, or Put it in the Anhang’,Notes, xii (1954–5), 25–40, 533–53
S. Stookes: The Art of Robert Casadesus (London, 1960)
A. Chasins: Speaking of Pianists (New York, 1961)
R. Patorni-Casadesus: Souvenirs d’une claveciniste: ma famille Casadesus (Paris, 1962)
P.R. Widhalm: Robert Casadesus, Composer, and his Four Sonatas for Piano (diss., U. of Missouri, 1991)
C. Timbrell: French Pianism (White Plains, NY, and London, 1992, 2/1999)
DAVID COX (1–3, 7), CHARLES TIMBRELL (4–6)
(b Paris, 2 Dec 1870; d Paris, 25 June 1954). Conductor, composer and violinist. He was a pupil of César Franck. Between 1890 and 1899 he directed music in various Paris theatres and became associated with the Opéra-Comique. Ballet des fleurs, his first significant work, ran for 150 performances in 1898 at the Théâtre de l’Olympia. From 1907 he was music critic for L’aurore and other Paris journals, and he conducted many French stage works in Paris and Moscow. After war service he made a special study of Gregorian chant. He was for a time director of an American military band school in Chaumont, and from 1921 he directed the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, which he had been largely responsible for founding. There, besides his work with students, he was much concerned with improving the lot of musicians generally, and in 1928 was made first a member, then in 1942 vice-president, of SACEM (the French copyright collection society). As a conductor he was active in radio from its early days. He wrote a considerable amount of music for the theatre, including operas in which the spectacular element is important – for example La chanson de Paris (1924) and La fête des géants (1944). His symphonic works, such as the Symphonie scandinave (1909) and the tone poems Quasimodo (1905) and La vision d’Olivier Métra (1932), and his chamber music, which includes the London Sketches (1924) for ten wind instruments and a string quartet (1950), made less impression. He was associated with his brother (2) Henri Casadesus in the publication of works purportedly by C.P.E. and J.C. Bach.
(selective list)
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Stage: Ballet des fleurs, 1898; Esterelle (ballet), 1900; Au beau jardin de France (ballet), 1918; Cachaprès (oc), 1924; La chanson de Paris (op), 1924; Bertrand de Born (op), 1925; Messie d’Amour (op), 1928; La fête des géants (op), 1944 |
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Orch: Quasimodo, sym. poem, 1905; Symphonie scandinave, 1909; La vision d’Olivier Métra, 1932; Le chant de Mistral, 1934; Meeting 36, sym. picture, 1937 |
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Chbr: London Sketches, 10 ww insts, 1924; Str Qt, c, 1950 |
(b Paris, 30 Sept 1879; d Paris, 31 May 1947). Composer, viola player and viola d’amore player, brother of (1) Francis Casadesus. In 1901, in collaboration with Saint-Saëns, he founded the Société des Instruments Anciens Casadesus, which until 1939 organized concerts. Rare instruments collected by him are in the collection of the Boston SO. Besides directing the opera theatre in Liège and the Gaîté-Lyrique in Paris, he became known as a musical diplomat, especially in the USA. He was a member of the Capet Quartet. His published compositions include operettas, ballets and songs, and he wrote a treatise and studies for the viola d’amore. There were early Columbia recordings of his Ballet divertissement, Jardin des amours, Récréations de la campagne and Suite florentine. His Hommage à Chausson, for violin and piano, was recorded for American Columbia in the 1950s by Zino Francescatti and (4) Robert Casadesus.
Casadesus was also involved, with his brothers (1) Francis and (3) Marius, in bringing out unknown pieces purportedly by 18th-century composers, but it has long been clear from stylistic evidence that these are entirely the work of the Casadesus brothers, and that has never been denied by the family. Three works in particular have enjoyed a good deal of success: a Violin Concerto in D (‘Adelaïde’) ascribed to Mozart, a Cello Concerto in C minor by ‘J.C. Bach’, and a Viola Concerto in B minor by ‘Handel’.
(b Paris, 24 Oct 1892; d Suresnes, Paris, 13 Oct 1981). Violinist, viol player, instrument maker and composer, brother of (1) Francis Casadesus. He founded and led the Marius Casadesus String Quartet and was a member of the Société des Instruments Anciens Casadesus. His compositions include Et nunc et semper for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1931), Phantasma (1939) and La trompette du boulanger (both for violin and orchestra), other orchestral pieces, and chamber music including a string quartet. He was associated with his brothers (1) Francis and (2) Henri in publishing works purportedly by 18th-century composers.
(b Paris, 7 April 1899; d Paris, 19 Sept 1972). Pianist and composer, nephew of (1) Francis Casadesus. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a premier prix in the class of Louis Diémer in 1913. He also won a premier prix in the harmony class of Xavier Leroux in 1919 and the Prix Diémer in 1920. In 1922 he met Ravel, who invited him to make Duo-Art piano rolls of some of his pieces and to perform with him in concerts in France, England and Spain. He formed a notable piano duo with (5) Gaby Casadesus, whom he married in 1921. As a soloist he toured Europe, Africa, the USSR, the Middle East, Japan, South America, the USA and Canada. In 1935 he was appointed professor of piano at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, which he later directed. He also taught privately, his students including Monique Haas and Claude Helffer. From 1940 to 1945 his career was based in the USA, where he and his family resided during the war. His temperamentally restrained outlook and elegant, transparent sound made him an ideal interpreter of Ravel and Mozart. His recording of Ravel’s complete piano works remains a model, as do several of his recordings of Mozart’s concertos (conducted by George Szell) and Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano (with Zino Francescatti). As a composer, he left a substantial legacy of works in a neo-classical, often modal idiom, including seven symphonies, eight concertos, chamber music and piano pieces.
(b Marseilles, 9 Aug 1901; d Paris, 12 Nov 1999). Pianist, wife of (4) Robert Casadesus. She studied with Marguerite Long and Louis Diémer at the Paris Conservatoire, where she won a premier prix in 1918 and the Prix Pagès in 1923. The piano duo partnership with her husband became famous. As a soloist she achieved distinction especially for her performances and recordings of French music and of Mozart. She taught at the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, the Schola Cantorum in Paris and the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau. In 1975 she helped establish the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland, Ohio. She published valuable editions of piano works by Ravel and Debussy, a book on piano technique (with Philip Lasser) Ma technique quotidienne (Paris, 1992), and a book of recollections (with Jacqueline Muller) Mes noces musicales (Paris, 1989).
(b Paris, 7 July 1927; d Renfrew, ON, 20 Jan 1972). Pianist, son of (4) Robert and (5) Gaby Casadesus. He studied first with his parents, then at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1940 he moved with his parents to the USA, where he studied at Princeton University. In 1946 he won the Philadelphia Orchestra’s competition for young soloists and made his US début playing Ravel’s Concerto in G. Tours in Europe, Israel and Latin America followed, as did performances and recordings with his parents. His solo recordings include stylish accounts of music by Chabrier and Debussy. He taught at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau and at SUNY (Binghamton). He died in a motor accident.
(b Paris, 7 Dec 1935). Conductor and composer, grandson of (2) Henri Casadesus. He studied percussion at the Paris Conservatoire, and conducting with Pierre Dervaux at the Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris (1963–5), and with Pierre Boulez in Basle (1965); he began his career as a percussionist before concentrating on conducting. He was conductor of the Paris Opéra, 1969–71, joint director of the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de Loire, 1971–6, and founder (1976) and director of the Orchestre National de Lille. Besides his association with major Paris orchestras, he has made guest appearances throughout Europe. His wide-ranging repertory includes the Viennese classics, Mahler, Stravinsky and Prokofiev, and French music from Berlioz to Varèse. Among his recordings are Mahler symphonies and the Kindertotenlieder, Honegger’s Le roi David and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande; in 1988 he resurrected and recorded Bizet’s early cantata Clovis et Clotilde. One of several works dedicated to him is Xenakis’s Tracées, the première of which he gave in 1987. He has also written incidental music for the theatre and for films.