Jazz For the Concert Pianist (112-115)

What made Ravel sympathetic to the views of Les Six?

His interest in Foreign Music

Who were Les Six?

A group of 6 younger French musicians who sought to change the status quo in Frnace

Who was the only female in Les Six?

Germaine Tailleferre 

When was Sicilienne premiered?

1928

How is Tailleferre pronnounced?

Ty-Fair

How was Tailleferres path to becoming a classical musician in terms of difficulty?

It was difficult, and full of challenges

Which challenge to her musical career came shortly after her birth?

A cholera epidemic which she contracted

Which challenge occured long before her birth?

Her mother fell in love with the son of a notary 

What was Tailleferre’s mothers name?

Marie-Desiree Taillefesse

What was the name of the man whom Marie-Desiree’s father wanted her to marry?

Arthur Taillefesse

Where did Marie-Desiree Taillefesse meet Arthur Taillefesse?

on a trainW

Why did Marie-Desiree’s father want her to marry Arthur?

He wanted her to have the same last name after marriage 

How did Marie-Desiree’s father ensure she married Arthur?

She hid the correspondence from the notary’s son W

What does fesse mean?

bottom or buttocks

What did the family change the second syllable of their last name to?

“ferre”

How was the marriage between Arthur and Marie-desiree?

Unhappy and full of quarreling 

How did Tailleferre’s upbringing affect her?

Her childhood was full of tears and arguments

Tailleferres’ musical talent at a young age led to what quarrel?

Her mother wanted her daughter to pursue music while her dad thought it was inappropriate to put her in the public eye through music

To what did Tailleferre’s dad compare a career in music?

Letting her become a streetwalker

What is a streetwalker?

a prostitute 

Marie-Desiree took Taillefere to which school? In What year?

Paris Conservatory; 1904

At what age was Tailleferre accepted into the Paris Conservatory?

12 years old

How did marie-Desiree react to Arthur’s decision to not give Tailleferre permission to pursue music?

she came up with a plan to get around his decision

What was Marie-Desiree’s plan to get Tailleferre to school?

She took Tailleferre to a local convent where the nuns escorted her to the Conservatory

Who was Tailleferre’s main piano teacher at the Conservatory?

Eva Sauteraeu-Meyer

Which mental ability did Tailleferre excel at?

memorization

Why did Tailleferre become a prize winner multiple times?

Her own ability and her teacher’s guidance

What revealed to Arthur that Tailleferre was practicing music?

A newspaper published a report about one of her first-prize medals H

How did Arthur react to the newspaper report?

He paraded it proudly but still refused to give Tailleferre financial support

How did Tailleferre pay for her studies?

She became a music tutor

In what class did she meet future Les Six members?

A counterpoint class

How many Les Six members did she meet in her counterpoint class?

3

Which Les Six members did she meet in the counterpoint class?

Milhaud, Honegger, and Auric

Who took the top prize in the Counterpoint class?

Tailleferre

Which other class did she take the top prize in?

Harmony class

Alongside musical studies Tailleferre became licensed in what?

piloting as a balloonist

Which one of her teachers agreed to go with her on a maiden voyage?

her counterpoint teacher

The onset of which war was a major challenge?

WW1

What happende to Conservatory classes with the onset of WW1?

The were significantly shut down

What did Tailleferre do following initial cut backs of Conservatory classes?

She continued to attend among a limited number of peers

How many students studied with Tailleferre in the Conservatory immediately after the onset of WW1?

3

Which member of Les Six studied along Tailleferre immediately following the onset of WW1?

Milhaud

What did Milhaud urge Tailleferre to do even after all classes were canceled?

Keep composing

When were all conservatory classes canceled?

1917

In what year did Milhaud leave to Brazil? With whom?

1917; Paul Claudel

What discovery did Tailleferre discover about herself which further encouraged her to compose?

She suffered from stage fright

What even signaled to Tailleferre that she suffered from stage fright?

She played an entire Bach fugue in the wrong keyW

What caused Tailleferres mistake performing the Bach fugue?

She was nervous about the director of the Conservatory being on the jury panel

Milhaud’s encouragement contradicted which other composers view on women composers?

Aaron Coplnd

Where did Tailleferre and her family leave to while the Conservatory was closed?

Safer territory

Why was arthur not along the families move out of war-torn Paris?

He died in 1914

What did Tailleferre cal Arthur’s death in her memoir?

“A relief”

In 1917 Tailleferre performed for who?

Erik Satie

What was Erik Satie’s role in the music wolrd?

he was a prominent force in innovative French Music

Erik Satie Christened Taillefere as what?

His musical daughter

How did Tailleferre feel after her interaction with Satie?

As if her path as a composer was set forever

Whom else did Tailleferre meet around the time of her performance to Erik Satie?

Princesse Edmon de Polignac

What was Princesse Edmon de Polignac’s birth name?

Winnaretta Singer

What did Winnaretta Singer’s father found?

The Singer Sewing Machine Company in the US

During what year and season did Princesse Edmon de Polignac let Tailleferre stay on her property?

1920 winter

On which of the Princesse’s properties did Taillefere stay in 1920?

A property in the Basque region of southwestern France

What work did Tailleferre complete in the Basque region property?

Her first violin sonata

Who set in motion events that would lead to Sicilienne?

The princesse

Whom did Tailleferre work for in 1921?

The Ballets Suedois 

What was Tailleferre composing for Ballets Suedois in 1921? With whom was she working?

A ballet, Louis Durey

How many days before the premiere did Durey pull out of the project?

4 days

How was Durey’s missing part of the composition replaced after he pulled out?

Tailleferre hurriedly composed ballet music to replace it

What is said to have influenced the Ballets Suedois decision to commission a solo ballet from Tailleferre in 1922?

her effort to save the joint 1921 ballet after Durey left the work

How did princesse describe the quality of Tailleferres ballet?

Archaic W

What did Tailleferres ballet remind the Princesse of?

Domenico Scarlatti

Which musical period is Domenico Scarlatti associated with?

Baroque

Who commissioned tailleferre to write a piano concerto after the 1922 ballet for Ballets Suedois?

The princesse 

Who helped arrange for the piano concerto to be performed in US cities?

A patron

What year was Tailleferre’s piano concerto set to be performed in the US?

spring 1925

What was the public reaction to Tailleferre’s concerto?

well received

What factor influenced tailleferre’s decision to return to NY several times over the next year following the spring 1925 showcase of her concerto?

Her concerto’s success 

When did Tailleferre attend an evening party where she met Ralph barton?

November 1926

Where was the party where Tailleferre met Ralph Barton?

NY home of Blanche Knopf

Whom did Blanche Knopf marry?

Alfred Knopf

What was Ralph Barton known for?

he was a caricaturist 

In what major magazine did Barton’s works appear?

the New Yorker

How many times had Ralph Barton been married?

3 times

After the party on November 1926 what did Barton insist to do?

Drive tailleferre to her hotel

What did Barton ask tailleferre on the way to her hotel?

“Would you like to marry me tomorrow?”

What did Tailleferre think Barton was doing when he asked to marry her?

Joking

Which celebrity was portrayed by Barton?

Al Jolson among many others

What did Taillferre say to Barton’s proposal?

yes after initial doubt about its seriousness

Tailleferre said yes to Barton’s proposal when he asked for the _______ time?

second 

When did Tailleferre and Barton’s wedding take place in relation to when Barton proposed?

A week later

Between which 2 countries did Barton and Tailleferre divide their time in the first years of their marriage?

US and France

During a party in which city did Gershwin and Tailleferre perform a 2 piano version of Rhapsody in Blue?

Manhattan

Whom did Tailleferre perform a 2 piano version of Rhapsody in Blue with at a party in Manhattan?

George Gerswhin

What version of Rhapsody in Blue did Tailleferre play in a Manhattan party?

2 piano version

To whom was Sicilienne dedicated to?

Ralph Barton

Tailleferre composed Sicilienne after moving back to which country?

France W

When did Tailleferre move back to France?

Decemnber 1928

What was the dedication in Sicielienne notated as?

“a Ralph”

When and how did Tailleferre and Barton’s marriage end?

Bizarrely and unhappily the following year (1929)