Honegger, Arthur

COMPOSER (SWITZERLAND)
BORN 10 Mar 1892, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime - DIED 27 Nov 1955, Paris
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: St. Vincent Cimetière, 6, rue Lucien Gaulard (division 08)

Arthur Honegger had the Swiss nationality, but he lived his entire life in France. He studied at the conservatories in Zürich and Paris. Together with Milhaud, Poulenc, Auric, Germaine Taillefere and Durey he formed Les Six in the 1920s. They were a group of composers that were influenced by Satie and Cocteau, but since they had little in common the group soon feel apart.

In 1921 he completed his impressive oratorio "Le Roi David" that made him famous. He was a prolific worker and wrote for the theatre, the stage and the cinema. In 1922 he wrote a ballet ("Skating Rink") and in 1927 an opera ("Antigone"). In 1923 he had published his "Pacific 231", the first of three 'mouvements symphoniques'.

In 1935 his stage oratorio "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher" ("Joan of Arc at the Stake") was completed (text by Paul Claudel).

Family
• Wife: Vaurabourg, Andrée (1926-)

Images

The grave of Arthur Honegger at St. Vincent Cimetière, Paris.
Picture by Androom (19 May 2005)

 

Sources
• Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991
Encyclopedie van de Muziek, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1959
Classical Net - Basic Repertoire List - Honegger


Höngen, Elisabeth

Published: 01 Jan 2006
Last update: 01 Jun 2020