France Clidat
France Clidat was a French pianist renowned for her interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt, a great many of which she recorded, and Erik Satie, whose complete piano works she recorded.
Biography
In 1948, at age 15, France Clidat played Henri Sauguet's Concerto in A minor in Geneva under the conductor Ernest Ansermet. She studied at the Paris Conservatory with Lazare Lévy, Maurice Hewitt, Alexis Roland-Manuel, Norbert Dufourcq, and Robert Siohan and received first prize in piano in 1950, at the age of 18. She later studied with Emil Gilels and Lélia Gousseau.At the Budapest International Competition in September 1956, she won the Franz Liszt Prize, a prize that had not been awarded since 1937. She later performed in many venues around the world. After a recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Bernard Gavoty, reviewer for Le Figaro, dubbed her "Madame Liszt". She was also called "the Ambassadress of the French piano" and she was named alongside Monique Haas, Cécile Ousset, Robert Casadesus and Philippe Entremont as outstanding representatives of the French piano school.
In the 1960s and 1970s, for Les Éditions Vega, she recorded the following works of Franz Liszt for Decca:
- Original works in the field of programme music
- Works of purely folkloristic character
- Studies or exercises
- Original works in the field of pure music
- Transcriptions or paraphrases from operas or lieder.
France Clidat recorded the complete piano works of Erik Satie, and works by Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Marcel Landowski.
She taught at the École Normale de Musique in Paris for a number of years, where she attracted many students from around the world. She also gave masterclasses in various countries, particularly Japan.
Clidat appeared as a juror at many important, international piano competitions, including the Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli, Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition in Santander, International Franz Liszt Competition the 3rd International Rhodes Competition, and the Francis Poulenc Competition.
She published articles about Liszt's solo piano music, such as "The Transcendental Studies: A Lisztian Pianist's Impressions" in New Light on Liszt and His Music and "Aux sources littéraires de Franz Liszt", with Jeanne Fauré-Cousin, an entire double issue of La Révue musicale.
Many works were dedicated to France Clidat and Bruno Rossignol wrote an Aria et Fugato sur le Nom de France Clidat.
Her playing of the Adagio from Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, was featured in the 2000 film Maelström.
Honours
She was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1976 and a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite in 1987.She was also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur and received the Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris.