Alexandre Tansman (Lodz, Polonia,12 de junio de 1897 – París, 15 de noviembre de 1986)

fue un compositor y pianista polaco de origen judío. Sus obras son de estilo neoclásico y
están inspiradas en la música judía polaca e influenciadas por la obra de Igor Stravinsky y
Maurice Ravel. Debido a que gran parte de su vida transcurrió en Francia y que este país le
concedió la nacionalidad, algunos lo consideran un compositor francés.

Biografía

Sus primeros años transcurrieron en su Polonia natal, cuando el territorio pertenecía al

Imperio Ruso de los zares. Las primeras lecciones musicales las tomó a temprana edad de
su madre, que era pianista aficionada, a los 11 años ingresó en el conservatorio de Lods,
donde estudió composición y piano, en 1914 inició estudios de derecho en la Universidad
de Varsovia, graduándose en 1918. En 1919 se trasladó a Francia, donde vivió el resto de
su vida, exceptuando el periodo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En París entabló contacto
con Maurice Ravel y cultivó la amistad de otros músicos extranjeros, entre ellos Martinu y
Andrés Segovia, para quien compuso varias obras guitarrísticas.123

El estallido de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la persecución de los judíos por los nazis, le
obligó a huir de Francia, junto a su familia, para refugiarse en Estados Unidos, donde
estableció una gran amistad con Stravinsky y escribió dos sinfonías, una de ellas dedicada a
los muertos en la contienda, In Memoriam por los muertos por Francia, y música para cine
en colaboración con realizadores como Julien Duvivier, Fritz Lang y Dudley Nichols.
También se interesó por la música de jazz, conociendo a artistas de este género, como Duke
Ellington.

En 1946, una vez derrotado el ejército alemán y finalizada la contienda, volvió a París. Tras
su regreso a Francia, alcanzó su plena madurez como compositor, siendo reconocido
internacionalmente y sus obras interpretadas como parte del repertorio de numerosas
orquestas, asimismo realizó giras por diferentes países, entre ellos Polonia, España,
Alemanía, Italia, Bélgica, Holanda e Israel. En 1986, el mismo año de su fallecimiento, fue
nombrado Doctor Honoris Causa por la Academia de Música de Lods, su ciudad natal, en
Francia se le concedió la Orden de las Artes y las Letras poco antes de su fallecimiento.

Born: June 12, 1897 - Łódź, Poland (then part of Tsarist Russia)

Died: November 15 - 1986, Paris, France

Alexandre [Alexander] Tansman was Polish-born composer and virtuoso pianist. He spent
his early years in his native Poland, but lived in France for most of his life. His music is
primarily neoclassical, drawing on his Polish and Jewish heritage as well as his French
musical influences.

Life

Alexandre Tansman wrote the following about his childhood and heritage in a 1980 letter to
an American researcher: "... my father's family came from Pinsk and I knew of a famous
rabbi related to him. My father died very young, and there were certainly two, or more
branches of the family, as ours was quite wealthy: we had in Lodz several domestics, two
governesses (French and German) living with us etc. My father had a sister who settled in
Israel and married there. I met her family on my [concert] tours in Israel. ... My family was,
as far as religion is concerned, quite liberal, not practicing. My mother was the daughter of
Prof. Leon Gourvitch, quite famous man."

Though he began his musical studies at the Łódź Conservatory, his doctoral study was in
law at the University of Warsaw. Shortly after completing his studies, Alexandre Tansman
moved to Paris, where his musical ideas were accepted and encouraged by mentors and
musical influences Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel, as opposed to the more conservative
musical climate in his native Poland. While in Paris, Tansman associated with a crowd of
foreign-born musicians known as the ֹcole de Paris; though Honegger and Milhaud tried to
persuade him to join Les Six, he declined, stating a need for creative independence.
(Tansman later wrote a biography of I. Stravinsky that was extremely well-received.)

Alexandre Tansman always described himself as a Polish composer, though he spoke

French at home and married a French pianist, Colette Cras. In 1941, fleeing Europe as his
Jewish background put him in danger with Hitler's rise to power, he moved to Los Angeles
(thanks to the efforts of his friend Charlie Chaplin in getting him a visa), where he made the
acquaintance of Arnold Schoenberg. Tansman composed the score for at least two
Hollywood movies - Flesh and Fantasy, starring Barbara Stanwyck; and a biopic of the
Australian medical researcher Sister Elizabeth Kenny, starring Rosalind Russell. He scored
six films in all. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1946 for Best Music, Scoring
of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, for Paris Underground (there was a huge field of 21
nominations, and the winner was Mikl‫ף‬s R‫ף‬zsa for Spellbound).

Though Alexandre Tansman returned to Paris after the war, his disappearance from the
European musical scene left him behind the musical currents of the time, and no longer
fresh in the minds of the public, which slowed his previously fast-rising career. No longer
in tune with the French fashions, which had moved on to the avant-garde style, Tansman
returned to his musical roots, drawing on his Jewish and Polish background to create some
of his greatest works. During this time he began to reestablish connections to Poland,
though his career and family kept him in France, where he lived until his death in 1986.

According to the Paris-based Soci‫י‬t‫ י‬des Auteurs et Compositeurs, Alexandre Tansman

used the name "Stan Alson" when he composed jazz music.

Today the Alexandre Tansman Competition for promising musicians is held in his honor
every other year in his birthplace of Łódź, in order to promote his music and the local
culture.

Music

Alexandre Tansman was not only an internationally recognized composer, but was also a
virtuoso pianist. From 1932-1933 he performed worldwide for audiences including
Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Mahatma Gandhi; he was regarded as one of the greatest
Polish musicians. Later he performed five concert tours in the USA, including as a soloist
under Serge Koussevitzky with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as having a
thriving career in France as a concert performer.

Tansman's music is written in the French neoclassical style of his adopted home, and the
Polish styles of his birthplace, drawing on his Jewish heritage. Already on the edge of
musical thought when he left Poland (critics questioned his chromatic and sometimes
polytonal writing), he adopted the extended harmonies of Ravel in his work and later was
compared to Alexander Scriabin in his departure from conventional tonality.

One of Tansman's letters states that "it is obvious that I owe much to France, but anyone
who has ever heard my compositions cannot have doubt that I have been, am and forever
will be a Polish composer."[citation needed] After Fr‫י‬d‫י‬ric Chopin, Tansman may be the
leading proponent of traditional Polish forms such as the polonaise and the mazurka; they
were inspired by and often written in homage to F. Chopin. For these pieces, which ranged
from lighthearted miniatures to virtuoso showpieces, Tansman drew on traditional Polish
folk themes and adapted them to his distinctive neoclassical style. However, he did not
write straight settings of the folk songs themselves, as he states in a radio interview: "I have
never used an actual Polish folk song in its original form, nor have I tried to reharmonize
one. I find that modernizing a popular song spoils it. It must be preserved in its original
harmonization."

Alexandre Tansman is perhaps best known for his guitar pieces, mostly written for Andr‫י‬s Segovia
- in particular the Suite in modo polonico (1962), a collection of Polish dances. Andr‫י‬s Segovia
frequently performed the work in recordings and on tour; it is today part of the standard repertoire.
Tansman's music has been performed by musicians such as Andr‫י‬s Segovia, Walter Gieseking, Jos
‫ י‬Iturbi, Jane Bathori, Joseph Szigeti, Pablo Casals, and Gregor Piatigorsky and most recently
Chandos Records has increased his profile, with the start of a series of his orchestral works,
recorded by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Oleg Caetani.

Selected List of Works

Music for Orchestra:

Scherzo Sinfonico (1923)

Danse de la Sorcičre (1923)

Second Symphony in A Minor (1927)

Second Piano Concerto (1927)

Triptyque for string orchestra (1930)

Quatre Danses polonaises (1931)

Rapsodie hebraique (1933)

Rapsodie polonaise (1940)

Fifth Symphony in D (1942)

Konzertstck for the Left Hand (1943)

Serenade no. 3 (1943)

Genesis, narrator and orchestra, collaboration with Arnold Schoenberg, Milhaud, Igor
Stravinsky, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Toch, Nathaniel Shilkret, after Genesis (1944)
Partita no. 2 (1944)

Sixth Symphony "In memoriam" choral symphony based on a French text by the composer
(1944)

Concerto for Orchestra (1955)

Stčle in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (1972)

Les dix commandements (1979)

Chamber Music:

Tansman wrote nine string quartets and numerers other chamber pieces, from duets to
octets.

Solo Piano:

Tansman wrote nearly 100 works for piano: sonatas, sonatinas, ballades, mazurkas,
preludes, suites, and an array of short character pieces.

Works for Choir & Orchestra:

Isaie le Prophete English text by Martin Lindsay translated into French by the composer
(1950)

Prologue et Cantate text excerptefrom Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9 (1958)

Psaumes 118, 119 et 120 text adapted to French by Ren‫ י‬Dumesnil (1961)

Opera:

La Nuit kurde (1927) lyric drama in three acts on a text by Jean-Richard Bloch

La Toison d'Or (1938) comic opera in acts on a libretto by Salvador de Madariaga

Le Serment (1953) lyric episode after Balza

Sabbatai Zevi, ou Le faux Messie (1958) lyric fresco on a libretto by Nathan Bistritzky

L'Usignolo di Boboli (1963) lyric tale in one act on a libretto by Mario Labroca

Georges Dandin (1974) comedy in three acts by Moličre

Music for Youth:

Tansman is well known for his large collection of works for amateurs and children.
Pour les Enfants Books 1, 2 & 3 (1933), and 4 (1934)

Je joue pour Papa, Les Jeunes au Piano, Ten Diversions for the Young Pianist, Les Jeunes
au Piano, Piano in Progress, Zehn Kinderstcke, Happy Time a series of gifts for his
daughters Mireille and Marianne

Many easy pieces for string instruments and piano, violin duet, solo guitar, and piano trio.

Film Music:

Poil de Carotte directed by Julien Duvivier, Paris (1932)

Flesh and Fantasy directed by Julien Duvivier, Hollywood (1942)

Paris Underground directed by Gregory Ratoff, Hollywood (1945)

Destiny co-directed by Julien Duvivier, Hollywood (1945)

Sister Kenny directed by Dudley Nichols, Hollywood (1946)

The Bargee for Galton-Simpson Productions, London (1964)

Obras destacadas

Concertino for guitar and orchestra (1945)

Cavatine, for guitar (1951)

Concertino for oboe, clarinet and string orchestra (1952)

Concerto for Orchestra (1954)

Hommage à Manuel de Falla for guitar and chamber orchestra (1954)

Musique de cour for guitar and chamber orchestra (1960)

Suite in modo polonico, for guitar (1962)

Hommage à Chopin, for guitar (1966)

Hommage à Lech Walesa, for guitar (1982)

Variaciones sobre un tema de Scriabin (1972), para guitarra