Aubin, Tony (Louis Alexandre)

Aubin, Tony (Louis Alexandre), French composer, conductor, and pedagogue; b. Paris, Dec. 8, 1907; d. there, Sept. 21, 1981. He studied harmony with Samuel-Rousseau, counterpoint with N. Galon, and composition with Dukas at the Paris Cons. (1925–30), winning the Prix de Rome with his cantata Actéon in 1930. In 1934-35 he studied conducting with Gaubert. In 1937 he became artistic director of the RTF station Paris Mondial. He became a conductor with the French radio in 1945, where he remained until 1960. He also taught composition at the Paris Cons, from 1945 to 1977. In 1970 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts. Aubin was a pragmatic composer who cultivated an eclectic idiom.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: La jeunese de Goya (1968–70). ballet:Fourberies (1950); Variations (1953); Grand pas (1953); Périls (1958); Au fil de Veau (1970). OTHER: Incidental music and film scores. ORCH.: 2 syms. (Symphonie romantique, 1934-36; 1944); Le chevalier Pécopin (1942); Cantilène variée (1944; also for Cello and Piano, 1937); Suite danoise (1945); Suite éolienne for Flute, Clarinet, and Strings (1958); Divertimento dell’incertezza for Clarinet and Strings (1967; also for Clarinet and Piano); Concertino delle scoiattolo for Oboe, Piano, and Strings (1970). CHAMBER: String Quartet (1930); Piano Sonata (1933); Concertinetto dell’amicizia for Flute and Piano (1964); Concertinetto for Violin and Piano (1964); Brughiera for Bassoon and Piano (1966); Toccatrotta for Harpsichord (1972); Divertimento dell’incertezza for Clarinet and Piano (1973); Hidalgoyas for Guitar (1972); Concertino della brughiera for Bassoon and Piano (1975). VOCAL: Actéon, cantata for Soprano, Tenor, Bass, and Orch. (1930); 6 poèmes de Verlaine for Voice and Piano (1932); Cressida for Speaker, Soprano, Tenor, Chorus, and Orch. (1934–37); Jeanne d’Arc à Orléans, oratorio (1942).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire