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First name: Charles M.
Last name: Widor
Dates: 1844-1937
Category: Quartet
Nationality: French
Opus name: Opus 66 in a (1891)
Publisher: Durand
Peculiarities: imslp Petrucci; RCG; Durand: http://www.durand-salabert-eschig.com/fiche_vente.php?id=2615&lang=fr
Information: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor (February 21, 1844 - March 12, 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher. A young Charles-Marie Widor, ca. 1870, when he became organist of Saint-Sulpice. Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, Francois-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-Francois-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889. The French organ builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll, reviver of the art of organ building, was a friend of the Widor family; he arranged for the talented young organist to study in Brussels in 1863 with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens for organ technique and with the elderly Francois-Joseph Fotis, director of the Brussels Conservatoire, for composition. After this term of study Widor moved to Paris, where he would make his home for the rest of his life. At the age of 24 he was appointed assistant to Camille Saint-Saens at Eglise de la Madeleine. In January 1870, with the combined lobbying of Cavaille-Coll, Saint-Saens, and Charles Gounod, the 25-year-old Widor was appointed as \"provisional\" organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the most prominent position for a French organist. The organ at St-Sulpice was Cavaille-Coll\'s masterwork; the instrument\'s spectacular capabilities proved an inspiration to Widor. Despite his job\'s ostensibly \"provisional\" nature, Widor remained as organist at St-Sulpice for nearly 64 years, until the end of 1933. He was succeeded in 1934 by his former student and assistant, Marcel Dupre. In 1890, upon the death of Cesar Franck, Widor succeeded him as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The class he inherited was initially stunned by this new teacher, who suddenly demanded a formidable technique and a knowledge of J.S. Bach\'s organ works as prerequisites to effective improvisation. Later (1896), he gave up this post to become composition professor at the same institution. Widor had several students in Paris who were to become famous composers and organists in their own right, most notably the aforementioned Dupre, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Darius Milhaud, Alexander Schreiner, Edgard Varese, and the Canadian Henri Gagnon. Albert Schweitzer also studied with Widor, mainly from 1899; master and pupil collaborated on an annotated edition of J. S. Bach\'s organ works published in 1912-14. Widor, whose own master Lemmens was an important Bach exponent, encouraged Schweitzer\'s theological exploration of Bach\'s music. Among the leading organ recitalists of his time, Widor visited in this capacity many different nations, including Russia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Switzerland. In addition he participated in the inaugural concerts of many of Cavaille-Coll\'s greatest instruments, notably Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Pres, the Trocadero and Saint-Ouen de Rouen. Well-known as a man of great culture and learning, Widor was made a chevalier of the Legion d\'Honneur in 1892, named to the Institut de France in 1910, and was elected \"Secretaire perpetuel\" (permanent secretary) of the Academie des Beaux-Arts on July 18, 1914, succeeding Henry Roujon. In 1921, Widor founded the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau with Francis-Louis Casadesus. He was the Director until 1934, when he was succeeded by Maurice Ravel. His close friend, Isidor Philipp gave piano lessons there, and Nadia Boulanger taught an entire generation of new composers. At the age of 76, Widor married Mathilde de Montesquiou-Fazensac on April 26, 1920 at Charchigne. The 36-year-old Mathilde was a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of Europe. She died in 1960: there were no children from this union. On December 31, 1933, Widor resigned his position at Saint-Sulpice. Three years later he suffered a stroke which paralysed the right side of his body, although he remained mentally alert to the last. He died at his home in Paris on March 12, 1937 and his remains were interred in the crypt of Saint-Sulpice four days later.