Jean Guillou
Jean Guillou was one of the most prominent and respected organists in Europe, but it took the CD boom of the late 1980s to turn him into something of a recording star. Guillou entered the Paris Conservatory in 1945, studying keyboard and composition with teachers including Marcel Dupré, Olivier Messiaen, and Maurice Duruflé. In 1953, at age 23, he joined the faculty of the Intituto de Alta Cultura in Lisbon. In 1958, Guillou moved to West Berlin, where he established himself as a recitalist and also published his first original compositions for solo organ and chamber ensemble. In 1963, Guillou was appointed organist at the Church of St. Eustache in Paris, a position he held until 2015. He subsequently toured Eastern Europe, Japan, and the United States. His recitals became renowned for their inventiveness and wit, Guillou freely intermingling his interpretations of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and César Franck, and arrangements of non-keyboard works by composers such as Franz Josef Haydn, as well as his own original compositions. Guillou's performances were noted for their dramatic flair and showmanship, which made him something of a flamboyant star on his instrument.
As a composer, he wrote numerous pieces that explore the sonorities of the organ in combination with other instruments, such as the cello in his Fantasie Concertante and with soprano in his Andromeda, based on the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins. He wrote concerti for the piano, an instrument on which he was thoroughly proficient though less celebrated, and authored an oratorio, The Last Judgment (1965); one symphonic work, his Judith-Symphonie (1971) for mezzo-soprano and orchestra; and Hypérion (1987) for organ and orchestra. He also revived the major keyboard works of Julius Reubke, a student of Franz Liszt who died tragically young. Guillou worte books on organ performance and the history and design of the instrument and was well-known within the music community as a leading scholar, conducting international master classes in Zurich beginning in 1970.
He made numerous acclaimed recordings that earned him recognition around the world. For Philips, he recorded such works as Alice au pays de l'orgue, a musical journey inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and the Fantaisie Concertante. He has also done extensive recording for the audiophile Dorian label -- the latter include his performances of Bach's Goldberg Variations and own organ transcriptions of Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka and Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition -- the latter disc found an especially large audience during the CD boom of the late 1980s, both as a result of the work's inherent popularity and as a serious follow-up to rock organist Keith Emerson's Moog synthesizer-based approach to the work from two decades earlier. This activity overlapped with Guillou's performances of the complete solo organ works of Bach in conjunction with the composer's tercentenary. Guillou retired from teaching in 2005, but continued to compose, perform, and record for another decade. Guillou died in Paris in early 2019.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
Artistas similares
-
Mussorgsky : M.P.: Pictures at an Exhibition - Stravisnki : 3 Movements From Petrushka (Jean Guillou)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 / Widor: Symphony No.6 - Allegro
Jean Guillou, San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart
Clásica - Editado por Decca Music Group Ltd. el 2 ene. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guillou plays Guillou at Notre-Dame in Paris
Clásica - Editado por Solstice el 1 oct. 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
L'orgue souvenir... Cathedral de León (Live)
Clásica - Editado por Halidon - Augure el 3 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Grand Orgue de Saint Eustache (Jean Guillou)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvre d'orgue (Intégrale) (César Franck)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GRANDES TOCCATAS
Clásica - Editado por Pierre Verany el 1 ene. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orgue et Percussions
Jean Guillou, Jean-Baptiste Monnot, Trio Delta Percussions
Clásica - Editado por Halidon - Augure el 13 oct. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guillou Joue Guillou
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 1 ene. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jean Guillou à Saint-Sernin (L'orgue, souvenir... Live)
Clásica - Editado por Halidon - Augure el 15 sep. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Regard (Œuvres pour orgue - live)
Varios - Editado por Halidon - Augure el 10 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Colloques et Répliques (Live)
Clásica - Editado por Halidon - Augure el 24 dic. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach : L'oeuvre pour orgue
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 1 ene. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Variations Goldberg (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres pour orgue (Antonio Vivaldi)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 22 jun. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonates (Intégrale) (Julius Reubke)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 31 ago. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Organ Recital: Guillou, Jean Victor Arthur - Bach, J.S. / Handel, F. / Haydn, G.F. / Purcell, H. / Schumann, R. / Liszt, F. (Organ Encores) (Jean Guillou, orgue)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les pièces pour orgue - volume 1 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 1 ene. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les premiers enregistrements - 1966-1973 Les classiques (Vol. 1)
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 29 may. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'Art de l'improvisation (Jean Guillou)
Clásica - Editado por Dorian el 31 ago. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les premiers enregistrements - 1966-1973 Les modernes (Vol. 2)
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 29 may. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo