Pierre Sancan: A Musical Tribute

May 31, 2023, 9:00 am

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Pierre Sancan was a tremendously influential figure in French musical life, as a composer, pianist, teacher, and conductor, but remains relatively unknown outside France. Born in Mazamet in 1916, he received his early musical training in Morocco and, later, Toulouse. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1934, won the Prix de Rome in 1943, and eventually joined the Conservatory staff in 1956, teaching there until his retirement in 1985. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet numbers among his many famous piano students, and conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, though not a direct student of Sancan, attended the Paris Conservatory while he taught there and remembers his influence. Included on the album are Sancan’s Piano Concerto, orchestral works, works for solo piano, and the flute Sonatine played by Adam Walker.