Henri Rabaud

Henri Rabaud (10 November 1873 – 11 September 1949) was a French conductor and composer.

Rabaud was born in Paris, France, the son of cellist and a singer, Hippolyte Rabaud (1839-1900), who was a professor of cello at the Paris Conservatory. Henri studied with André Gédalge and Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1908, he became the conductor at the Paris Opéra at the Opéra-Comique and from 1914 to 1918 he directed the Opéra. He was musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for only one season before returing to Paris. Following the resignation Gabriel Fauré in 1922, Rabaud was his successor as director of the Paris Conservatory where he remained until 1941. He was conductor, and director the Paris Opéra orchestra for ten years.

Compositions

Rabaud's cantata, "Daphné", won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1894. Rabaud's comic opera "Mâruf, savetier du Caire" combines the Wagnerian and the exotic. He wrote other operas, including "L’appel de la mer" based on Synge’s "Riders to the Sea", as well as incidental music and film scores, such as the 1925 score for "Joueur d'échecs" (Chess-Player). These have been largely forgotten.

Orchestral music by Rabaud includes a "Divertissement" on Russian songs and "Eglogue", a Virgilian poem for orchestra, as well as the symphonic poem, "La procession nocturne" his best known orchestral work, still occasionally revived and recorded. He also wrote music for chorus and orchestra and two symphonies.

His chamber music includes several works for cello and piano as well as a "Solo de concours" for clarinet and piano - a virtuosic competition piece written for the graduation and solo competition for the Paris Conservatory in 1901.

Conservative as a composer, he was known for his mantra, “modernism is the enemy.”

Selected list of works

*"Procession nocturne", symphonic poem, 1899
*"Job", oratorio, 1900
*"La fille de Roland", opera, 1904
*"Mârouf, savetier du Caire", opera, 1914
*"Rolande et le mauvais garçon", 1934
*"L’appel de la mer", opera
*"Divertissement sur des chansons russes"
*"Prélude et Toccata" for piano and orchestra
*"Eglogue"
*"Solo de Concours pour Clarinet et Piano"

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHudHaTfs6M "Solo de Concours" for clarinet & piano – Duo “Istria” - (video)]