Claude Helffer

This internationally renowned French pianist specialized in contemporary music, but he also excelled in the performance of traditional repertoire by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann. Helffer started his piano research at the sensitive age group of five. The popular Robert Casadesus was impressed by his playing and required him on as students. During WWII, he pursued advanced research at l’École Polytechnique. Helffer participated in the Level of resistance in the underground fighting at Vercors, that he was granted the Croix de guerre in 1944. (His additional decorations consist of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, Officier de l’ordre du Mérite, and Officier des Arts et Lettres). Following the hostilities, Helffer was finally in a position to graduate from l’École and produced your final decision to create music his profession. He then analyzed tranquility and counterpoint with René Leibowitz and offered his debut recital in Paris. In 1954, he became from the Domain name Musical Orchestra and championed modern music by playing the functions of Barraqué, Serocki, Evangelisti, Luciano Bério, Pierre Boulez, Philippot, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Compositions such as for example Epigrammes (1965) by Amy, a concerto by André Boucourechliev (1975), Stances (1978) by Betsy Jolas, Manoury’s Chryptophonos (1974), Erikhton by Iannis Xenakis (1974), Luis de Pablo’s Concerto No. 1 (1980), Envoi (1982) by G. Tremblay, as well as the Adjustments (1983) by Jarrell (1983) carry dedications to Helffer. In 1962, he performed for the very first time in Latin America and produced his American debut in 1966 using the Chicago Symphony. He debuted in Russia in 1968. In 1978, he was involved like a professeur d’interprétation in the Music College of Vienna. Helffer produced his debut in Australia in 1980 and in Japan in 1984. He offers continued to execute across the world numerous well-known conductors, including Barshai, Boulez, Bour, Gielen, Iwaki, Maderna, Marriner, Martinon, vehicle Otterloo, Prêtre, Scherchen, Sebastian, and Tabachnik. Helffer also kept grasp classes in piano music interpretation in European countries, North and SOUTH USA, Australia, and Japan. He was an associate from the editing committee on a crucial edition from the functions of Debussy for the Durand-Costallat submitting home, he presided more than a revision from the composer’s two books of preludes as well as the etudes, and released several amounts of pedagogical research.