{{Short description|Belgian-born French conductor (1905–1967)}} {{Infobox person | name = Andrè Cluytens | image = André Cluytens, 1956 - collezione Tino Barindelli.tiff | alt = | caption = Andrè Cluytens (photo with 1956 dedication) | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = conductor | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Augustin Zulma Alphonse''' "'''André'''" '''Cluytens''' ({{IPA|fr|ɑ̃dʁe klɥitɛ̃s|lang}}, {{IPA|nl|ˈɑndreː ˈklœytəns|lang}}; 26 March 1905{{spaced ndash}}3 June 1967)<ref name="Baeck">Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009.</ref> was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works. Although much of his career was spent in France, he was the first French conductor at Bayreuth in 1955; he also conducted ''The Ring'' and ''Parsifal'' at La Scala.<ref>André Cluytens. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 2001.</ref>
==Life and career==
===Belgium=== Cluytens was born in Antwerp into a musical family: his paternal grandfather, father and uncles were all professional musicians. His mother was a soprano at the opera, and after she died in 1906 his father married another singer.<ref name="Baeck"/> He entered the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp at the age of 9, graduating at 16 with first prizes in harmony and counterpoint, and piano.<ref name="Sanders">Sanders A. Liner notes to Andre Cluytens – A French Collection CDs. London, Testament, 2002.</ref> His father Alphonse, conductor of the Théâtre Royal Français Opera House, engaged his son as a chorusmaster and coach. He joined his father at the Opera, conducting productions there, making his debut on 14 December 1926 with ''Les pêcheurs de perles''.<ref name="Baeck"/> In January 1927 he married Germaine Gilson, a soprano soloist in the troupe of the Théâtre Royal Français; they had one son, Michel (1943–69).<ref name="Baeck"/> Promoted to house conductor for the 1927–28 season, over the next five years Cluytens built up a broad opera (and ballet) repertoire in Antwerp: ''Mireille'', ''Madama Butterfly'', ''La traviata'', ''La fille du régiment'', ''La Basoche'', ''Ma mère l'oye'', ''Manon'', ''La poupée de Nuremberg'', ''Resurrection'', ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', ''Werther'', ''Jeux'', ''Le domino noir'', ''Le voyage en Chine'', ''Les Huguenots'', ''Schwanda the Bagpiper'', ''Salome'' and ''Angélique''.<ref name="Baeck"/>
===France=== In 1932, he became the principal conductor at the Théâtre du Capitole of Toulouse, adding further to his repertoire, including operas such as ''Boris Godunov'', ''Lohengrin'', ''Ernani'', ''Tannhäuser'', ''Otello'', ''Die Walküre'' and ''The Marriage of Figaro'' as well as several operettas.<ref name="Baeck"/> In 1935 he moved to the Opéra National de Lyon as principal conductor, adding more Wagner to his repertoire (''Das Rheingold'' and ''Siegfried'') and became the musical director there in 1942.
Cluytens volunteered to serve in the French army in September 1939 and following a medical examination was engaged as a French combatant, although he never saw action; he became a French citizen on 14 May 1940.<ref name="Baeck"/> Following the liberation of France, complaints from Bordeaux concerning his alleged collaboration with Nazi authorities in that city led to him being sentenced as part of the épuration; after appeal, on 24 May 1946 his sentence was revoked.<ref name="Baeck"/>
In 1947, he was appointed musical director at the Opéra-Comique, where he conducted 40 works between 1947–1953, including premieres of ''Le carosse du Saint Sacrement'', ''Marion'' and ''Le Oui des jeunes filles''. His well-regarded work at the Opéra-Comique included a successful renewal of ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in a fresh production in April 1948;<ref>Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950).'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953.</ref> Francis Poulenc was delighted with his part in the recording with Opéra-Comique forces of his ''Les mamelles de Tirésias''. Also notable was the revival after 180 years of ''Blaise le savetier'' (which was brought into the Salle Favart repertoire as a curtain-raiser for ''La boheme'', ''Werther'' and ''La traviata''), and the French premiere of ''The Rake's Progress'' in June 1953. His revival of ''Manon'' was highly praised – and representative of what Paris critics saw as a successful tenure at the Opéra-Comique; he also oversaw many all-Ravel evenings. Cluytens resigned from the Opéra-Comique in December 1953 and conducted his last performance there (''Manon'') on 30 September 1954. He became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1953.<ref name="Baeck"/>
Having made his debut with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra on 20 December 1942, he succeeded Charles Munch in 1949 as principal conductor, which post he held until 1960. His contract required him to conduct half of the orchestra's concerts each season; he also led them on foreign tours. Cluytens was due to conduct the first concert to be given by Alfred Cortot in Paris after his disgrace for Vichy activities, in 1947; in the event the concerto was dropped and Cluytens refused to acknowledge Cortot as he and the orchestra left the stage for Cortot to play solo.<ref>Spotts F. ''The Shameful Peace''. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2008, {{ISBN|0300132905}}.</ref> Cluytens conducted the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra in a Beethoven symphony cycle and then on its tour of Japan in 1964,<ref>[http://hector.ucdavis.edu/Sdc/01ProgramsTP.htm Holoman DK. Société des concerts du Conservatoire website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927211933/http://hector.ucdavis.edu/Sdc/01ProgramsTP.htm |date=September 27, 2011 }} Accessed 13 March 2011.</ref> continuing on his own to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, South Australian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Victorian Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra into July that year.
===International career=== He led a famous performance of Wagner's opera ''Tannhäuser'' at the Bayreuth Festival on 23 July 1955, being the first conductor of French nationality to conduct at Bayreuth (and only the third non-German to conduct there, after Toscanini and de Sabata). His other work at Bayreuth up to 1965 consisted of ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1956, 1957, 1958), ''Parsifal'' (1957, 1965) and ''Lohengrin'' (1958), returning for ''Tannhäuser'' in 1965. According to Wolfgang Wagner, Cluytens was "universally liked for his amiable, open-minded attitude"; Hans Knappertsbusch was delighted when Cluytens requested that the older conductor introduce him to ''Parsifal''.<ref>Wagner, Wolfgang. ''Acts'' (autobiography). Orion, London, 1994.</ref>
He was to introduce Régine Crespin to Wieland Wagner, which led to her engagements at Bayreuth from 1958.<ref>Tommasini, Anthony [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/arts/music/06crespin.html?_r=0 Régine Crespin, French Soprano, Dies at 80 ]. ''New York Times'', July 6, 2007.</ref> Having conducted a ''Ring'' cycle in Lyon in 1959, Cluytens conducted three cycles at La Scala, Milan in 1963 (with Birgit Nilsson and Hans Hotter).
Cluytens made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1948, and later toured the UK, the US and Canada<ref>Obituary – André Cluytens. ''Gramophone'', August 1967.</ref> with the orchestra in 1956. He also worked with the Berlin Philharmonic as a guest conductor, making the very first recording of the complete Beethoven symphonies with that orchestra. Cluytens was well-versed in the German repertoire, and was also noted for authoritative interpretations of Ravel and other modern French composers.
From 1964 he had a close relationship with Anja Silja, whom he had met in Bayreuth<ref>[http://www.abeillemusique.com/dossiers/dossier.php?nomdossier=cluytens&rg=1&tit_dos=André%20Cluytens ''André Cluytens par Anja Silja'', interview with Cécile Remy, Abeille Musique, 22 March 2002.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310012422/http://abeillemusique.com/dossiers/dossier.php?nomdossier=cluytens&rg=1&tit_dos=andr%c3%a9%20cluytens |date=2016-03-10 }} Accessed 16 February 2011.</ref> and first conducted in ''Salome'' at the Paris Opera. His death at the age of 62 occurred coincident with his reputation emerging not just primarily as a conductor of the French classics, but as an interpreter of the standard German/Austrian repertoire.
Cluytens died in 1967 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. The German soprano Anja Silja bought his former home in Paris and has resided there ever since.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4725788/A-femme-fatale-faces-the-music.html | title=A femme fatale faces the music | newspaper=Telegraph | author=Michael White | date=2001-09-27 | access-date=2007-02-18}}</ref>
==Recordings== {{Main|André Cluytens discography}}
A prolific recording artist, Cluytens signed a contract with the French branch of EMI Pathé-Marconi in 1946. He recorded an extensive series of complete French operas with the forces of the Opéra-Comique and the Opéra National de Paris. He also recorded a wide range of orchestral works by the French masters, two traversals of the orchestral works of Ravel, and a complete cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1957–1960. Many of his records, and some live performances, have since been re-issued on CD,<ref name="Sanders"/><ref>Cowan R. Replay – Rob Cowan rediscovers the art of conductor Andre Cluytens. ''Gramophone'', May 2002, 104–5.</ref> while film of him conducting Ravel and Tchaikovsky (with Emil Gilels) have been presented on DVD.<ref>EMI IMG Classic Archive DVA4 90124-9, 2003.</ref> He may be seen during the overture of the film ''Le Barbier de Séville.''
==References== {{Reflist}}
*Holomon, D. Kern. ''The Société des Concerts Du Conservatoire, 1828–1967''. page 476-7.
==External links== {{Commons category|André Cluytens}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070514034255/http://hector.ucdavis.edu/SdC/ Société des concerts du Conservatoire] *[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=q18099/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography] at All Music.com *[https://web.archive.org/web/20101212040250/http://fischer.hosting.paran.com/music/Cluytens/cluytens-e.htm Short biography, Recordings and discography], Youngrok Lee's Classical Music
{{S-start}} {{s-culture}} {{succession box | title=Principal Conductor, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire | before=Charles Münch | years=1946–1960 | after=none}} {{S-end}} {{NOB conductors}} {{Opéra-Comique music directors}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cluytens, Andre}} Category:1905 births Category:1967 deaths Category:Belgian conductors (music) Category:Belgian male musicians Category:French male conductors (music) Category:Music directors (opera) Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:Musicians from Antwerp Category:Naturalized citizens of France Category:20th-century French conductors (music) Category:20th-century French male musicians Category:Music & Arts artists Category:Belgian emigrants to France Category:Music directors of the Belgian National Orchestra Category:Chief conductors of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire