TROUBADISC composers
biography
"I want to write eighteen quartets." Darius Milhaud, 1920
| 1892 | Born on 4 September 1892 in Aix-en-Provence |
| 1909 | Philosophy exam, moves to Paris, founds his own string quartet Attends the Paris Conservatory; composition: Charles-M. Widor, conducting: Paul Dukas |
| 1911 | Beginning of his friendship with fellow student Arthur Honegger Composition of first genuine piece: 1st Violin Sonata op. 3 |
| 1913 | Makes the acquaintance of poet Paul Claudel, beginning of a friendship and collaboration lasting for decades, participates at the premiere of Stravinsky's "le Sacre du Printemps" |
| 1917 | Travels by ship with Paul Claudel to Rio de Janeiro, where he works as an embassy secretary |
| 1918 | Returns to Paris, joins the group of musicians known as the "Nouveaux Jeunes" led by Satie |
| 1919 | Participates in the first concert with "Les Six", the group of Paris composers |
| 1922 | First trip to the US, first contact with American jazz in Harlem Contact with Alma Mahler and Arnold Schönberg in Vienna |
| 1925 | Marries actress Madeleine Milhaud (honeymoon in Syria) |
| 1926 | Trip to Russia, concerts with pianist Jean Wiéner in Leningrad and Moscow, meeting with Shostakovitsh |
| 1932 | Invited by Paul Hindemith to Baden-Baden for the premiere of the Opéra-Minute "L’Enlèvement d’Europe" |
| 1938 | Appears as conductor in the festival concerts of "pro Musica" in Brussels |
| 1940 | Emigrates to the US, teaches composition at Mills Collage in Oakland |
| 1947 | Finishes the "opera americana" begun in 1940 (64 compositions), returns to France, begins teaching composition at the Paris Conservatory |
| 1950 | Begins his composition courses at the Aspen Summer Festival |
| 1951 | Composition of the 18th (and last) string quartet op. 308 in the US |
| 1962 | Participates as conductor of his works at the "Musica Viva" (Karl Amadeus Hartmann) in Munich |
| 1966 | Conducts during the "Prague Spring" (premiere of the "Musique pour Prague") |
| 1971 | Quits teaching in the US and Paris, settles in Geneva |
| 1972 | Last vocal composition: "Ani Maamin. Un Chant perdu et retrouvé" (Cantata to a Text, by Elie Wiesel) op. 441 |
| 1973 | Last instrumental composition: Wind Quintet op. 443 |
| 1974 | Dies on 22 June in Geneva |
"Not a single critic understood what had actually moved me to compose these works (Machines agricoles), or that were written in the same spirit in which former composers had celebrated harvest time, grapegathering or the 'Jolly Farmer', in the same spirit in which Honegger had glorified the locomotive and Fernand Léger the world of machines. Whoever wished to illustrate my tendency towards irony and eccentricity quoted the 'Machines agricoles.' I have never managed to discover what makes reasonable people think an artist would spend his time on fooling a few people, when the creative process is tied to so much pain." Darius Milhaud
book tips
Darius Milhaud:
"Notes without music: An autobiography."
Prestel Verlag, München, 1962.
"Ma vie heureuse." (My happy life)
Paris, 1973.
Hilde Malcomess:
"Die opéras minute von Darius Milhaud."
ORPHEUS Verlag, Bonn. www.orpheus-verlag.de
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Darius Milhaud
"Les Six", 1931