Duruflé, Marie-Madeleine (née Chevalier)

Duruflé, Marie-Madeleine (née Chevalier), distinguished French organist and teacher; b. Marseilles, May 8, 1921; d. Paris, Oct. 5, 1999. She displayed remarkable musical talent at an early age and was made organist at the Cathedral of St. Veran de Cavaillon when she was only 11. At the age of 12, she became a student at the Avignon Cons. In 1946 she entered the Paris Cons, as a student of Dupré, where she won the premier prix in organ. In 1953 she was awarded the Grand Prix International Charles-Marie Widor. Following her marriage to Maurice Duruflé in 1953, she served as co-organist with him at the church of St. Étienne-du-Mont in Paris. They also toured widely as duo organ recitalists, making their first tour of the U.S. in 1964. She and her husband were severely injured in southeastern France in 1975 when their car was hit by a speeding car. Neither ever fully recovered from this tragic experience, although, after a long and painful recuperation, she appeared in public as a recitalist in 1989 when she played at the Duruflé Festival in N.Y. She played for the last time in public at the Church of the Ascension in N.Y. in 1993. In addition to her authoritative interpretations of her husband’s works, she also excelled as an interpreter of Widor, Vierne, Dupré, and Langlais. She also was greatly admired for her masterful improvisations.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire