Roger-Ducasse, Jean

Preface

Jean Roger-Ducasse – Orphée. Mimodrame Lyrique en trois Actes

(b. Bordeaux, April 18, 1873 – d. Le-Taillan-Médoc near Bordeaux, September 19, 1954)

Preface
Jean Roger-Ducasse is remembered today primarily for his Pastorale, one of the great virtuoso pieces for organ from the early 20th century. Born in Bordeaux as the son of a marine underwriter, Roger-Ducasse received his early musical training in his hometown at the music school of the Société Sainte-Cécile. In 1892, he moved to Paris to enroll at the city’s conservatory. There, he studied alongside Maurice Ravel, Charles Koechlin, Florent Schmitt, Raoul Laparra, Nadia Boulanger, and Georges Enesco, under the guidance of Charles-Auguste de Bériot, Émile Pessard, André Gedalge, and Gabriel Fauré, whom he greatly admired. A close friendship would later develop between them, and in 1923, he dedicated his Poème symphonique pour orchestre (“sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré”) to his mentor.

In 1898, Roger-Ducasse’s Petite Suite became the first of his works to be performed publicly at the Société Nationale de Musique, followed by Deux Rondels in 1899. He submitted compositions for the Prix de Rome for three consecutive years before finally winning second prize for his cantata Alcyone. A significant part of his musical career was devoted to teaching. In 1928, he succeeded Auguste Chapuis as chief inspector for vocal instruction in Paris’s city schools, and in 1935, he took over from Paul Dukas as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire. As a teacher, he was both conscientious and demanding, not one to seek popularity. He did not hesitate to destroy works that failed to meet his standards. Among his most distinguished students were the French composers Jacques Ibert and Jéhan Alain, as well as the Scottish composer Francis George Scott.

Roger-Ducasse had a deep passion for working with young musicians and nurturing their talents. The teacher shortage caused by World War II mobilization allowed him to continue his beloved teaching career well beyond retirement, until 1945. He then retired to Taillan-Médoc near Bordeaux, cutting all ties with his Parisian musical circles and the broader music world. Suffering increasingly from the long-term effects of a lung disease, he passed away at the age of 81 on July 18, 1954, surrounded by his family. …

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