Born: February 15, 1905 - Djidjelli, Algeria
Died: March 17, 1975 - Boulogne sur Seine, France |
The French pianist and composer, Pierre Auclert, was born Algeria to a family of great musicians. He began playing the piano at age 4, progressed very rapidly and was attracted to the music of J.S. Bach from an early age. At age 18, he already played from memory the complete 48 Preludes & Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846-869 + BWV 870-893). He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMP) from 1927 to 1935, winning the premier prix de fugue in the class of Noël Gallon.
Pierre Auclert made piano tours with José Iturbi and Yves Nat. He made a big impression and was invited to teach at the Conservatory of Saarbrücken, where in 1947, he benefited from the presence of the great Walter Gieseking. He made a number of visits to Germany, where he discovered the sonorities of the clavichord, an instrument favoured by J.S. Bach. He performed as a soloist for the ORTF, Radios of Geneva, Saarbrücken, Radio-Liban, Saigon, Algeria or Morrocco, as well as in Austria, where he made conference tours, playing in Salzburg and Vienna.
Encouragerd by Paul Ducas to compose, Pierre Auclert participated in the Rome Competition in 1934. He wrote a number of Preludes & Fugues for piano, Ballet, Chamber Music (trios, quartets, etc...). The premiere of his Trio No. 2 was at the 7th International Congress of Interlochen in Michigan (USA). His Piano Concerto was performed in Radio France and in concerts in Paris, Luxembourg, Germany, in Switzerland with Yvonne Loriod and J. Eymard as soloists.
Pierre Auclert was Honorary Vice-President of the International Society of Music Education. Since 1957 he served in the Congress of Music Schools in Germany, and in April 1968 was the only French invited to the meeting in Hannover. |