Alfred Denis Cortot (Nyon, Switzerland, September 26, 1877 – Lausanne, Swit… Read Full Bio ↴Alfred Denis Cortot (Nyon, Switzerland, September 26, 1877 – Lausanne, Switzerland, June 15, 1962) was a Swiss pianist and conductor. He is renowned for his poetic and deeply melancholic interpretation of Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.
Born in Nyon in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Cortot studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Emile Descombes (reputedly a pupil of Chopin) (as did Maurice Ravel), and with Louis Diémer, taking a premier prix in 1896. He made his debut at the Concerts Colonne in 1897, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. Between 1898 and 1901 he was a choral coach, and subsequently assistant conductor, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, and in 1902 he conducted the Paris premiere of Götterdämmerung by Wagner. He formed a concert society to perform Wagner's Parsifal, Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Brahms' German Requiem, and new works by French composers.
In 1905, Cortot formed a trio with Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals, which established itself as the leading piano trio of its era, and probably of any era. From 1907 to 1923 Cortot taught at the Paris Conservatoire, where his pupils included Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Vlado Perlemuter, and even Marguerite Monnot (French composer of most of the best songs of Edith Piaf and of the stage musical Irma la douce). In 1919 he founded the École Normale de Musique de Paris. His courses in musical interpretation were legendary. Extremely widely traveled as a pianist, he also appeared as guest conductor of many orchestras. He died in Lausanne.
Controversially, he supported the German occupation in France during the Second World War (he played in Nazi-sponsored concerts, for example), serving as Minister of Culture for the Vichy regime, and befriending Hitler's assistant Albert Speer. His Vichy connections, in particular, led to him being declared persona non grata after the Liberation. The motives for his wartime activities have been disputed; they may have arisen from nothing more than his lifelong championship of Teutonic musical culture. Moreover his wife, Clothilde Breal, daughter of the semanticist, Michel Breal, was of Jewish origin and Clothilde Breal's cousin, Lise Bloch, was married to Leon Blum, the first Jew to become President du Conseil or Prime Minister in France. Cortot and the Blums maintained a close friendship. At any rate, he was banned from performing publicly for a year, and his public image in France suffered greatly (though he continued to be well received as a recitalist in other countries, notably Italy and England).
As the foremost piano interpreter of Chopin and Schumann, Cortot made editions of both those composers' music, which were notable for his own meticulous commentary on technical problems and matters of interpretation. He had famous memory lapses - particularly notable from the 1940s onwards, when non-musical matters were very much on his mind - and occasionally left wrong notes on his records. This was in stark contrast to his technically flawless student, Lipatti.
Cortot was also the author of the piano exercise book: "Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique". This book contains many finger exercises to aid in the development of various aspects of piano playing technique. It was originally written in French but has since been translated into other languages.
Technical flaws notwithstanding, Cortot was among the very greatest musicians of the century, and represented the end of an era. He is considered the last exponent of a personal, subjective style that deprecated precise technique in favor of intuition, interpretation and authentic spirit. This approach was replaced by the modern "scientific" way of playing, which places logic and precision at the forefront and equates authenticity with metronomic and literal "interpretations". Cortot's recordings and musical annotations have seldom been out of print.
Born in Nyon in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Cortot studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Emile Descombes (reputedly a pupil of Chopin) (as did Maurice Ravel), and with Louis Diémer, taking a premier prix in 1896. He made his debut at the Concerts Colonne in 1897, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. Between 1898 and 1901 he was a choral coach, and subsequently assistant conductor, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, and in 1902 he conducted the Paris premiere of Götterdämmerung by Wagner. He formed a concert society to perform Wagner's Parsifal, Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Brahms' German Requiem, and new works by French composers.
In 1905, Cortot formed a trio with Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals, which established itself as the leading piano trio of its era, and probably of any era. From 1907 to 1923 Cortot taught at the Paris Conservatoire, where his pupils included Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Vlado Perlemuter, and even Marguerite Monnot (French composer of most of the best songs of Edith Piaf and of the stage musical Irma la douce). In 1919 he founded the École Normale de Musique de Paris. His courses in musical interpretation were legendary. Extremely widely traveled as a pianist, he also appeared as guest conductor of many orchestras. He died in Lausanne.
Controversially, he supported the German occupation in France during the Second World War (he played in Nazi-sponsored concerts, for example), serving as Minister of Culture for the Vichy regime, and befriending Hitler's assistant Albert Speer. His Vichy connections, in particular, led to him being declared persona non grata after the Liberation. The motives for his wartime activities have been disputed; they may have arisen from nothing more than his lifelong championship of Teutonic musical culture. Moreover his wife, Clothilde Breal, daughter of the semanticist, Michel Breal, was of Jewish origin and Clothilde Breal's cousin, Lise Bloch, was married to Leon Blum, the first Jew to become President du Conseil or Prime Minister in France. Cortot and the Blums maintained a close friendship. At any rate, he was banned from performing publicly for a year, and his public image in France suffered greatly (though he continued to be well received as a recitalist in other countries, notably Italy and England).
As the foremost piano interpreter of Chopin and Schumann, Cortot made editions of both those composers' music, which were notable for his own meticulous commentary on technical problems and matters of interpretation. He had famous memory lapses - particularly notable from the 1940s onwards, when non-musical matters were very much on his mind - and occasionally left wrong notes on his records. This was in stark contrast to his technically flawless student, Lipatti.
Cortot was also the author of the piano exercise book: "Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique". This book contains many finger exercises to aid in the development of various aspects of piano playing technique. It was originally written in French but has since been translated into other languages.
Technical flaws notwithstanding, Cortot was among the very greatest musicians of the century, and represented the end of an era. He is considered the last exponent of a personal, subjective style that deprecated precise technique in favor of intuition, interpretation and authentic spirit. This approach was replaced by the modern "scientific" way of playing, which places logic and precision at the forefront and equates authenticity with metronomic and literal "interpretations". Cortot's recordings and musical annotations have seldom been out of print.
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32Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke": I. Allegro moderato9:38Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
33Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke": II. Scherzo (Allegro)6:40Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
34Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 "Archduke": III. Andante cantabile13:16Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
35Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke": IV. Allegro moderato6:33Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
36Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat D898 (1991 Remastered Version): I. Allegro moderato10:26Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
37Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat D898 (1991 Remastered Version): II. Andante un poco mosso8:56Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
38Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat D898 (1991 Remastered Version): III. Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio3:43Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
39Piano Trio No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 99, D. 898: IV. Rondo (Allegro vivace)8:11Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
407 Variations on Mozart's "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen" for Cello and Piano in E-Flat Major, WoO 4610:03Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
50Préludes, Book 1, L. 125, L. 117: IV. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir2:40Alfred Cortot
65Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8: III. Recitativo - Fantasia (Ben moderato - Molto lento)7:02Jacques Thibaud
70Préludes, Book 1, L. 125, L. 117: XII. Minstrels (Arr. for violin and piano by Debussy)2:03Jacques Thibaud
71Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major Op. 13 (1989 Remastered Version): I. Allegro molto6:49Jacques Thibaud
73Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major Op. 13 (1989 Remastered Version): III. Allegro vivo3:42Jacques Thibaud
74Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major Op. 13 (1989 Remastered Version): IV. Allegro quasi presto4:39Jacques Thibaud
75Trio No. 25 in G (Sonata) Hob. XV: 25 (Op. 73 No. 2) (1991 Remastered Version): I. Andante3:31Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
76Trio No. 25 in G (Sonata) Hob. XV: 25 (Op. 73 No. 2) (1991 Remastered Version): II. Poco adagio, cantabile6:12Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
77Trio No. 25 in G (Sonata) Hob. XV: 25 (Op. 73 No. 2) (1991 Remastered Version): III. Rondo all'ongarese (Presto)3:12Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
78Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer": I. Adagio sostenuto - Presto11:06Jacques Thibaud
81Double Concerto in A Minor, Op. 102: I. Allegro15:04Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Orquesta Pau Casals, Barcelona/Alfred Cortot
83Double Concerto in A Minor, Op. 102: III. Vivace non troppo8:34Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Orquesta Pau Casals, Barcelona/Alfred Cortot
84Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49: I. Molto allegro agitato9:03Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
85Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op.49 (1991 Remastered Version): II. Andante con moto tranquillo7:17Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
86Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op.49 (1991 Remastered Version): III. Scherzo (Leggiero e vivace)4:02Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
87Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op.49 (1991 Remastered Version): IV. Finale (Allegro assai appassionato)8:32Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
88Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 63 (1991 Remastered Version): I. Mit Energie und Leidenschaft12:14Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
89Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 63 (1991 Remastered Version): II. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch4:18Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
90Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 63 (1991 Remastered Version): III. Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung6:14Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
92Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 121a, "Kakadu Variations"0:01Jacques Thibaud/Pablo Casals/Alfred Cortot
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