Arthur Honegger

Latest News

Arthur Honegger (March 10, 1892 – November 27, 1955) was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.

Born Oscar-Arthur Honegger (the first name was never used) in Le Havre, France, he initially studied harmony and violin in Paris, and after a brief period in Zurich, returned there to study with Charles Widor and Vincent d'Indy. He continued to study through the 1910s, before writing the ballet Le dit des jeux du monde in 1918, generally considered to be his first characteristic work. In 1926 he married Andrée Vaurabourg, a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire. They had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932. Honegger also had a son, Jean-Claude (1926-2003), with the singer Claire Croiza.

In the early 1920s Honegger shot to fame with his "dramatic psalm" Le Roi David ("King David"), which is still in the choral repertoire. Between World War I and World War II, Honegger was very prolific. He composed the music for Abel Gance's epic 1927 film, Napoléon. He composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works, amongst other works. One of those stage works, Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1935), a "dramatic oratorio", is thought of as one of his finest works. In addition to his works written alone, he collaborated with Jacques Ibert on both an opera, L'Aiglon (1937), and an operetta. During this time period he also wrote Danse de la Chèvre (1921), an essential piece of flute repertoire. Dedicated to René Le Roy and written for flute alone, this piece is lively and young, but with the same directness of all Honegger's work.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arthur Honegger." | Wiki History
Your Daily Horoscope
NBA: Los Angeles Clippers 88, Indiana 72
NHL: Phoenix 3, Ottawa 2
NBA: Portland 90, Houston 89
The almanac
NHL: Calgary 2, San Jose 1
COL BKB: Charlotte 87, Louisville 65
fark
The next big economy-wrecking bust on the horizon? Yup, the garlic bubble has popped
Photoshop this magnificent metal marble missing it's middle
Teacher did not inappropriately touch students. In other news, students will lie about lots of things...
Where's Waldo?
Not news: Getting fined for public intoxication. Fark: While quietly waiting for your designated...
Parents spend less time worrying about the meaning of the nativity story and more time making sure...