François was born in Frankfurt where his father worked at the French consulate. His mother, Rose, named him Samson, for strength, and Pascal, for mind.[1] François discovered the piano early – at the age of two – and his first studies were in Italy, with Pietro Mascagni, who encouraged him to give his first concert at the age of six.
Having studied in the Conservatoire in Nice from 1932 to 1935, where he again won first prize, François came to the attention of Alfred Cortot, who encouraged him to move to Paris and study with Yvonne Lefébure at the École Normale de Musique. He also studied piano with Cortot (who reportedly found him almost impossible to teach), and harmony with Nadia Boulanger. In 1938, he moved to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Marguerite Long, the doyenne of French teachers of the age. He won the piano section of the inaugural (1943) Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition.
He was particularly admired for his performances of Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Ravel. In 2012 his Debussy recordings were awarded the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik". His entire studio discography was reissued on compact disc in 2020 by Warner Classics.
François was a keen jazz fan—particularly of the pianist Bud Powell,[2] who lived and performed in Paris—and claimed that jazz influenced his playing. He composed, among other works,"Magies Noires" for solo piano, a concerto for piano and orchestra, and incidental music for film.
He married Josette Bahvsar, and their son Maximilien was born in 1955. Maximilien, who published a biography of his father in 2002 (see bibliography below), died in New Mexico on October 11, 2013.[3] Samson François's extravagant lifestyle, good looks, and passionate but highly disciplined playing, gave him a cult status as a pianist. He had a heart attack on the concert stage in 1968. His early death followed only two years later.
François himself said "never play simply to play well" and, in a remark clearly inspired by his jazz influences, "It must be that there is never the impression of being obliged to play the next note."[citation needed]
samson, françois, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, march, 2022, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, s. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Samson Pascal Francois 18 May 1924 22 October 1970 was a French pianist and composer Francois 1948 Contents 1 Biography 2 Bibliography 3 References 4 External linksBiography editFrancois was born in Frankfurt where his father worked at the French consulate His mother Rose named him Samson for strength and Pascal for mind 1 Francois discovered the piano early at the age of two and his first studies were in Italy with Pietro Mascagni who encouraged him to give his first concert at the age of six Having studied in the Conservatoire in Nice from 1932 to 1935 where he again won first prize Francois came to the attention of Alfred Cortot who encouraged him to move to Paris and study with Yvonne Lefebure at the Ecole Normale de Musique He also studied piano with Cortot who reportedly found him almost impossible to teach and harmony with Nadia Boulanger In 1938 he moved to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Marguerite Long the doyenne of French teachers of the age He won the piano section of the inaugural 1943 Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud Competition He was particularly admired for his performances of Chopin Schumann Debussy and Ravel In 2012 his Debussy recordings were awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik His entire studio discography was reissued on compact disc in 2020 by Warner Classics Francois was a keen jazz fan particularly of the pianist Bud Powell 2 who lived and performed in Paris and claimed that jazz influenced his playing He composed among other works Magies Noires for solo piano a concerto for piano and orchestra and incidental music for film He married Josette Bahvsar and their son Maximilien was born in 1955 Maximilien who published a biography of his father in 2002 see bibliography below died in New Mexico on October 11 2013 3 Samson Francois s extravagant lifestyle good looks and passionate but highly disciplined playing gave him a cult status as a pianist He had a heart attack on the concert stage in 1968 His early death followed only two years later Francois himself said never play simply to play well and in a remark clearly inspired by his jazz influences It must be that there is never the impression of being obliged to play the next note citation needed Bibliography editRoy Jean Samson Francois le poete du piano 4 editions Josette Lyon ISBN 2906757853 Spycket Jerome Scarbo 1985 in French a biography of Francois Francois Maximilien Samson Samson Francois histoire de mille vies 1924 1970 Editions Bleu Nuit 2002 ISBN 2 913575 54 4 in French References edit Waiblinger Michael 2014 The Ettlingen Recital 1960 Media notes Melo Classic p 2 Paudras Francis 1986 La danse des infideles Bud Powell in French L Instant p 200 ISBN 978 2 86929 052 5 Bud Powell Histoires du Jazz in French Archived from the original on 2011 10 09 Death of Maximilien Francois Samson Francois le poete du piano on World CatExternal links editBiography in French from which the quotations in this article were translated Works by or about Samson Francois at Internet Archive nbsp This article about a French classical musician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article on a classical pianist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Samson Francois amp oldid 1191612040, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
