Roger Matton: Concerto For Two Pianos And Percussion – 1955 – Past Daily Weekend Gramophone

Roger Matton – Composer, ethnomusicologist, risk-taker.

Roger Matton: Concerto For Two Pianos And Percussion – Jeanne Landry – Josephte Dufresne, Pianos – Jean-Louis Charbonneau – Guy Lachapelle, percussion – Recorded 1955 – CBC Radio Studio session – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –

The Music of Roger Matton again this weekend – his Concerto for two Pianos and Percussion featuring Jeanne Landry and Josephte Dufresne, pianos along with Jean-Louis Charbonneau and Guy Lachapelle, percussion. This was recorded shortly after its premier in 1955 for broadcast by the CBC in Canada.

From his page at Canadian League Of Composers:

Born in Granby, Québec in 1929, Roger studied composition at the Montréal Conservatory with Claude Champagne (1945) and at the École normale supérieure de musique in Paris with Nadia Boulanger (1950-55). At the Paris Conservatory he also attended Olivier Messiaen’s classes in analysis.

Matton had a solidly established reputation in Canada, the United States and Europe. In 1962 the Montréal Symphony Orchestra commissioned his piece Mouvement symphonique II to represent the country during a tour in France, Austria and the Soviet Union. In 1960, thanks to the efforts of Wilfrid Pelletier, the New York public was able to hear his work L’horoscope. Mouvement symphonique I was successfully performed in Paris in 1963, and his Te Deum received its European premiere and was recorded in Paris in 1969.

From 1960 to 1978, his so-called “Mouvement symphonique” period, he produced four works that showed his interest in large forces and broad spaces.

Matton’s career brought him several distinctions and honours. In 1965, at an artists’ gala, he was awarded the Prix de la création musicale for the works played on the CBC television series L’Heure du Concert. In 1966 he won the Prix Pierre-Mercure for the recording of his Concerto pour deux pianos et orchestre. In 1969 the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montréal awarded him its Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée and Bene Merenti de Patria medal for his complete musical production. In 1987, Radio-Canada International issued a four-record set of his works (ACM29). In 1984, Matton became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Enjoy – I’m sure there will be another installment of music that’s historic, unknown and/or overlooked.

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