Darius Milhaud - Works, Location of Original Source Material Relating to Darius Milhaud

Composer, born in Aix-en-Provence, SE France. He studied under Widor and d'Indy at the Paris Conservatoire. While attached to the French Embassy at Rio de Janeiro (1917–18), he met the playwright Paul Claudel, with whom he frequently collaborated, as on the opera Christopher Columbus. Returning to France, he was for a while a member of Les Six. He was professor of music at Mills College, California (1940–7), and taught at the Paris Conservatoire from 1947. His ballets include the jazz ballet La Création du monde (1923, The Creation of the World), and he composed several operas, much incidental music for plays, symphonies, and orchestral, choral, and chamber works.

Born to a Jewish family in Aix-en-Provence, Milhaud studied in Paris at the Paris Conservatory where he met his fellow group members Arthur Honegger and Germaine Tailleferre.

On a trip to the US in 1922, Darius Milhaud heard "authentic" jazz for the first time, on the streets of Harlem, which left a great impact on his musical outlook.

From 1947 to 1971 he taught alternate years at Mills and the Paris Conservatoire, until poor health, which caused him to use a wheelchair during his later years (beginning sometime before 1947), compelled him to retire.

Notable students of Milhaud:

Iannis Xenakis Morton Subotnick Dave Brubeck Bill Smith Burt Bacharach Benjamín Gutiérrez Sáenz Steve Reich Karlheinz Stockhausen (though he left his studies early) William Bolcom Charles Dodge Philip Glass (During a summer camp where he challenged Aaron Copland's opinion) Stanley Hollingsworth

His compositions are particularly noted as being influenced by jazz and for their use of polytonality (music in more than one key at once). His most significant works include Le Boeuf sur le Toit (ballet), La Création du Monde (a ballet for small orchestra with solo saxophone, influenced by jazz), Scaramouche (for Saxophone and Orchestra, transcribed also for two pianos), and Saudades do Brazil (dance suite).

Works

Note that the following list represents only a tiny proportion of Milhaud's output;

Operas

Christophe Colomb (1930) Médée, text by Madeleine Milhaud (his wife and cousin) (1939) Bolivar (1950)

Ballets

L'Homme et son désir, Op. 48, for four wordless singers, solo wind, percussion, and strings '"Le Boeuf sur le Toit", Op. 58 (1919, after Cocteau) La Création du Monde, Op. 81, for small orchestra (1923)

Orchestral

Symphonies Symphony No. 152b, for orchestra (1937)

Concertante

Piano Cinq Études pour piano et orchestre, Op. 83b, fantasy for piano and orchestra (1926) Scaramouche, for alto saxophone and orchestra (1939, rearrangement of the original theatre music for saxophone and small ensemble) I. 109, concerto for percussion and small orchestra

Winds

Suite française, Op. 260 (1960) Introduction Marche funèbre

Piano

Le bœuf sur le toit, for two pianos (1919) "Saudades do Brazil", (1920) Botofogo Scaramouche, transcription for two pianos of the original theatre music (1936, originally for saxophone and ensemble)

Chamber

String quartets (The 14th and 15th string quartets can be performed separately as well as simultaneously as a string octet. For a curious 19th-century example of a composer writing works for simultaneous performance, see Pietro Raimondi.) String Quartet No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 String Quartet No. 4 String Quartet No. 5 String Quartet No. 6 String Quartet No. 7 String Quartet No. 8 String Quartet No. 9 String Quartet No. 10 String Quartet No. 11 String Quartet No. 12 String Quartet No. 13 String Quartet No. 14 String Quartet No. 15 String Quartet No. 16 String Quartet No. 17 String Quartet No. 18 La Cheminée du Roi René (Woodwind Quintet)

Vocal

Machines agricoles, Op. 56, for one singer and 7 instruments, with texts taken out of a catalogue for agricultural machines (1919)

Location of Original Source Material Relating to Darius Milhaud

The Western Jewish History Center, of the Judah L.