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Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Germaine Tailleferre
Person · female · France · Saint-Maur-des-Fossés · born 1892 · died 1983 · recording since 1995
French composer (1892-1983)
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Also known as Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse · 热尔梅娜·塔耶芙尔
Timeline
15 events▣ Album 11◦ Birth 1✦ Award 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1890s
1970s
1980s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: String Quartets
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography943 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1362458488
Biography
Marcelle Germaine Tailleferre (French: [ʒɛʁmɛn tɑjfɛʁ]; née Taillefesse; 19 April 1892 – 7 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as Les Six.
Biography
Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. As a young woman she changed her last name from "Taillefesse" to "Tailleferre" to spite her father, who had refused to support her musical studies. She began studying piano with her mother at age four and composed short works of her own. She was said to have a very good ear, even at a young age, accurately judging the playing techniques of others.
Tailleferre studied at the Paris Conservatory, where she met Louis Durey, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric, and Arthur Honegger. She won prizes in several categories. Most notably, Tailleferre wrote 18 short works in the Petit livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu for Caroline Luigini, the Conservatory's assistant professor of harp.
With her new friends, she was soon associating with the artistic crowd in the Paris districts of Montmartre and Montparnasse, including the sculptor Emmanuel Centore, who later married her sister Jeanne. She also fraternized with artists like Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani at the Café de la Rotonde. In the Montparnasse atelier of one of her painter friends the idea for Les Six began. The publication of Jean Cocteau's manifesto Le coq et l'Arlequin resulted in Henri Collet's articles that led to instant fame for the group, of which Tailleferre was the only female member.
In 1923, Tailleferre began to spend a great deal of time with Maurice Ravel at his home in Montfort-l'Amaury. Ravel encouraged her to enter the Prix de Rome Competition. In 1926, she married Ralph Barton, an American caricaturist, and moved to Manhattan, New York. Like Tailleferre's father, Barton did not support her musical pursuits. In her memoir, Tailleferre said she hardly composed during the 2 ½ years they were married. She remained in the United States until 1927, when she and her husband returned to France. They divorced shortly thereafter.
Tailleferre wrote many of her most important works during the 1920s, including her First Piano Concerto, the Harp Concertino, the ballets Le marchand d'oiseaux (the most frequently performed ballet in the repertoire of the Ballets suédois during the 1920s), La nouvelle Cythère, which was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the ill-fated 1929 season of the Ballets Russes, and Sous les ramparts d'Athènes in collaboration with Paul Claudel, as well as several film scores, including B'anda, in which she used African themes.
Tailleferre also had experience with choreography thanks to her work with Jean Borlin on Le marchand d'oiseaux. Borlin, the chief dancer and official choreographer of the Ballet Suédois, encouraged composers of new ballets to add their own ideas to the choreography. She later said she danced and ran across the stage in her enthusiasm and recklessness.
In 1931 she gave birth to her only child, Françoise Lageat, with lawyer Jean Lageat. The couple married in 1932 and divorced in 1955 after years of separation.
The 1930s were even more fruitful, with the Concerto for Two Pianos, Chorus, Saxophones, and Orchestra, the Violin Concerto, the opera cycle Du style galant au style méchant, the operas Zoulaïna and Le marin de Bolivar, and her masterwork, La cantate de Narcisse, in collaboration with Paul Valéry. Her work in film music included a collaboration with Maurice Cloche and a series of documentaries, with over 30 scores composed.
When World War II broke out, Tailleferre was forced to leave most of her scores at her home in Grasse, except her recently completed Three Études for Piano and Orchestra. Escaping across Spain to Portugal, she found passage on a boat that took her to the U.S., where she lived the war years in Philadelphia.
In 1946, Tailleferre returned to France, where she composed orchestral and chamber music and other works, including the ballets Paris-Magie (with Lise Delarme) and Parisiana (for the Royal Ballet of Copenhagen), the operas Il était un petit navire (with Henri Jeanson), Dolores, La petite sirène (with Philippe Soupault, based on Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid"), and Le maître (to a libretto by Ionesco), the musical comedy Parfums, the Concerto des vaines paroles for baritone voice, piano, and orchestra, the Concerto for Soprano and Orchestra, the Concertino for Flute, Piano, and Orchestra, the Second Piano Concerto, the Concerto for Two Guitars and Orchestra, her Second Sonata for Violin and Piano, and the Sonata for Harp, as well as many film and television scores. Most of this music was not published until after her death.
In 1976, Tailleferre accepted the post of accompanist for a children's music and movement class at the École alsacienne, a private school in Paris. During the last period of her life, she concentrated mainly on smaller forms due to increasing problems with arthritis in her hands. She produced the Sonate champêtre for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and piano; the Sonata for Two Pianos; Chorale and Variations for Two Pianos or Orchestra; a series of children's songs (on texts by Jean Tardieu); and pieces for young pianists. Her last major work was the Concerto de la fidelité for coloratura soprano and orchestra, which was premièred at the Paris Opera the year before her death.
Tailleferre continued to compose until a few weeks before her death at age 91 on 7 November 1983. She is buried in Quincy-Voisins, Seine-et-Marne, France. She was the last surviving member of Les Six.
In 2023, BBC Radio 3 broadcast five hours of biography and critique of Tailleferre's works, in one of its series, Composer of the Week, including recordings of her works (available as podcasts).
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 27 | 88.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | -12 | 8.6th |
| Genres | 13 | 98.2th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (11 release groups · 11 studio albums)
Albums · 11
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:04:53
1String Quartet: Animé et très décidé6:342String Quartet: Assez vif et bien rythmé3:523String Quartet: Andantino doucement expressif7:354String Quartet: Très modéré7:255String Quartet: Allegro moderato8:296String Quartet: Assez vif - Très rythmé6:227String Quartet: Très lent9:268String Quartet: Vif et agité5:159String Quartet: Modéré2:2410String Quartet: Intermède2:4011String Quartet: Final, vif4:51The Music Of Germaine Tailleferre
1996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 51:48
1Images6:052Quatuor: I. Modéré2:523Quatuor: II. Intermède3:434Quatuor: III. Final4:405Forlane2:486Chansons Populaires Françaises: I. La pernette se lève4:017Chansons Populaires Françaises: II. Mon père toujous me crie1:318Chansons Populaires Françaises: III. Jean de la Réole1:319Chansons Populaires Françaises: IV. L'autre jour en m'y promenant2:5310Chansons Populaires Françaises: V. En revenant de Nantes2:5011Sonate Pour Harpe: I. Allegretto3:0912Sonate Pour Harpe: II. Lento4:4113Sonate Pour Harpe: III. Allegro gaiement4:0214Deux Valses: I. Valse lente2:1115Deux Valses: II. Valse brillante2:3816Galliarde2:131996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 53:05
1Fleurs de France8:332Pastorale en la bémol majeur1:363Romance3:144Pastorale en ut majeur3:225Petite Suite2:196Au pavillon d'Alsace3:547Enfantines12:388Deux pièces pour piano: Larghetto3:259Deux pièces pour piano: Valse lente1:5110Partita: Perpetuum mobile2:3111Partita: Notturno3:1112Partita: Allegramente3:0613Sicilienne3:252000 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:00:36
1Sonata no. 1: Modéré sans lenteur6:002Sonata no. 1: Scherzo – Pas très vite et sans rigueur3:093Sonata no. 1: Assez lent3:594Sonata no. 1: Final – Très vite5:075Sonata no. 2: Allegro non troppo5:086Sonata no. 2: Adagietto3:567Sonata no. 2: Finale – Allegro5:098Sonatina: Moderato3:109Sonatina: Andantino3:0710Sonatina: Allegro, gaiement2:1211Berceuse2:3312Sonata for Violin and Piano: Allegretto8:0313Sonata for Violin and Piano: Blues – Moderato5:4114Sonata for Violin and Piano: Perpetuum mobile – Allegro3:222008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 42 tracks · 2:08:06
Disc 11Impromptu2:312Romance3:293Pas trop vite1:354Pastorale in D Major1:485Hommage à Debussy1:316Très vite2:217Pastorale in A-Flat Major3:308Sicilienne3:199Pastorale in C Major4:0210Fleurs de France: I. Jasmin de Provence1:1411Fleurs de France: II. Coquelicot de Guyenne0:5112Fleurs de France: III. Rose d'Anjou1:3413Fleurs de France: IV. Tournesol du Languedoc1:1614Fleurs de France: V. Anthémis du Roussillon1:2015Fleurs de France: VI. Lavandin de Haute-Provence1:0216Fleurs de France: VII. Volubilis du Béarn0:5617Fleurs de France: VIII. Bleuet de Picardie0:4918Chiens1:5419Pastorale inca5:0120Au pavillon d'Alsace4:2521Bretagne8:3322Larghetto2:5923Valse lente1:4024Fugue du parapluie2:0125Partita pour Piano: I. Perpetuum mobile. Allegretto2:4926Partita pour Piano: II. Notturno. Andantino2:5327Partita pour Piano: III. Allegramente. Allegro3:35Disc 228Trio pour Piano, Violon et Violoncelle: I. Allegro animato3:5629Trio pour Piano, Violon et Violoncelle: II. Allegro vivace3:0030Trio pour Piano, Violon et Violoncelle: III. Moderato2:4731Trio pour Piano, Violon et Violoncelle: IV. Très animé3:5332Berceuse pour Violon et Piano2:4333Sonate No. 1 pour Violon et Piano: I. Modéré sans lenteur5:4034Sonate No. 1 pour Violon et Piano: II. Scherzo3:0335Sonate No. 1 pour Violon et Piano: III. Assez Lent4:3636Sonate No. 1 pour Violon et Piano: IV. Final. Très vite5:1837Adagio pour Violon et Piano4:1938Pastorale pour Violon et Piano3:1839Sonate No. 2 pour Violon et Piano: I. Allegro non troppo4:1340Sonate No. 2 pour Violon et Piano: II. Adagietto4:0541Sonate No. 2 pour Violon et Piano: III. Final. Allegro5:2442Sonatine pour Violon et Piano: I. Moderato2:532012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 1:05:35
1Image3:092String Quartet: I. Modere2:273String Quartet: II. Intermede2:294String Quartet: III. Final: Vif5:055Violin Sonata no. 1: I. Modere sans lenteur5:146Violin Sonata no. 1: II. Scherzo2:347Violin Sonata no. 1: III. Assez lent3:578Violin Sonata no. 1: IV. Final: Tres vite4:079Clarinet Sonata: I. Allegro tranquillo2:4610Clarinet Sonata: II. Andantino espressivo1:2411Clarinet Sonata: III. Allegro brioso1:2912Arabesque2:5513Violin Sonata no. 2: I. Allegro non troppo4:1314Violin Sonata no. 2: II. Adagietto3:4415Violin Sonata no. 2: III. Final: Allegro4:3716Forlane2:3517Trio: I. Allegro animato3:3818Trio: II. Allegro vivace2:5719Trio: III. Moderato2:5620Trio: IV. Tres anime3:192018 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:00:35
1Trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle en ré mineur, op. 120 : Allegro ma non troppo6:122Trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle en ré mineur, op. 120 : Andantino9:303Trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle en ré mineur, op. 120 : Allegro vivo4:384Trio en la mineur : Modéré9:355Trio en la mineur : Pantoum4:286Trio en la mineur : Passacaille7:287Trio en la mineur : Final. Animé5:208Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano : Allegro animato3:489Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano : Allegro vivace3:1110Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano : Moderato2:4911Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano : Très animé3:36La Promenade des Dames: French Women Composers & Harp Music
2019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 24 tracks · 58:40
1Rhapsodie8:462Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: I. Morceau de lecture en forme de menuet1:213Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: II. Moderé1:264Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: III. Pas trop vite0:595Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: IV. Pas trop lent1:066Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: V. Dans le pres1:117Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: VI. Pas trop vite a mon petit ami Jean Tardieu1:148Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: VII. Pas trop lent0:599Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: VIII. Assez lent1:3210Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: IX. Lent1:2811Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: X. Pas trop vite1:3312Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XI. Lent1:3413Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XII. Colin-Maillard1:0314Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XIII. Moderato2:0615Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XIV. Lent2:2816Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XV. Pas trop vite a Madame Tardieu en toute sympathie1:4017Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XVI. (Anonyme)1:0718Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XVII. Ondine1:2619Le Petit Livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu: XVIII. Pas trop vite1:2120Sonate pour harpe: Allegretto2:5121Sonate pour harpe: Lento3:5922Sonate pour harpe: Perpetuum mobile3:3423Sonata alla Scarlatti3:0924Variations sur un thème mineur10:472019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:01:08
1String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, L. 85: I. Animé et très décidé6:132String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, L. 85: II. Assez vif et bien rythmé4:013String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, L. 85: III. Andantino, doucement expressif6:224String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, L. 85: IV. Très modéré7:215String Quartet: I. Modéré2:256String Quartet: II. Intermède2:417String Quartet: III. Final. Vif4:568String Quartet in F major, M. 35: I. Allegro moderato7:569String Quartet in F major, M. 35: II. Assez vif - Très rythmé6:0310String Quartet in F major, M. 35: III. Très lent8:0311String Quartet in F major, M. 35: IV. Vif et agité5:072022 · studio album
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Tracklist · 55 tracks · 1:23:18
1Exercice d’harmonie (Chant donné par Florent Schmitt)0:552Impromptu2:113Romance2:174Pas trop vite0:505Pastorale1:296Fandango1:467Hommage à Debussy0:468Très vite…1:579Grand dieu des enfers1:1810Répands, charmante nuit0:4111Air pour la jeunesse0:5012Son confusa pastorella0:3413Air de l’opéra Salustia0:3714Soleva il traditore0:3415Il nocchier nella tempesta0:2316Sò che per gioco0:5317Vorrei dai lacci1:2018La pena che m’affanna0:4119Spero si ch’Amor0:3920Duri, e penosi0:2321Lieti in grembo0:3322Plainte d’Erminia0:2823Il n’est point d’amour sans peine0:4224Son lo scherzo0:4225Cara e dolce rimembranza0:2426Gran pena amar lontane0:1927Songez à faire usage1:2228Tendre amour1:0029Ce n’est point pour servir0:4730Ne cédons point à l’inconstance0:1731Illustre et cher époux0:5532Il fallait le voir au village0:1933Sous le rempart d’Athènes15:5034Sicilienne3:1035Pastorale in A-flat3:0036Pastorale in C3:4137Fleurs de France: Jasmin de Provence1:1238Fleurs de France: Coquelicot de Guyenne0:4139Fleurs de France: Rose d’Anjou1:0140Fleurs de France: Tournesol du Languedoc1:0741Fleurs de France: Anthémise du Roussillon1:1342Fleurs de France: Lavandin de Haute-Provence0:5243Fleurs de France: Volubilis du Béarn0:4444Fleurs de France: Bleuet de Picardie1:0045Pastorale Inca3:1146Pastorale Amazone2:2347Berceuse2:2248Suite dans le style “Louis XV”: I. Allegro1:0649Suite dans le style “Louis XV”: II. Andante1:3850Suite dans le style “Louis XV”: III. Vif1:0551Suite dans le style “Louis XV”: IV. Lent1:3952Suite dans le style “Louis XV”: V. Allegro1:2253Marche funèbre (Comique?)1:1854Au pavillon d’Alsace: Moderato2:4855Au pavillon d’Alsace: Allegro2:032026 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 53:58
1String Quartet: I. Modéré2:352String Quartet: II. Intermède2:293String Quartet: III. Final. Vif5:004Poem for String Quartet8:045String Quartet no. 2 in A minor: I. Allegro10:516String Quartet no. 2 in A minor: II. Andante cantabile5:547String Quartet no. 2 in A minor: III. Juba. Allegro4:448String Quartet no. 2 in A minor: IV. Finale. Allegro6:079Femmes: Amazone4:2910Femmes: Confiture de prunes3:45
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Germaine Tailleferre head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 27 | 88.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 15 | 91.2th |
| Recording span (years) | -12 | 8.6th |
| Genres | 13 | 98.2th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Groupe des Six(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tailleferre_Harcourt_1937_2.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2cf48701-c346-447c-947a-30a85a26f0d9discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2cf48701-c346-447c-947a-30a85a26f0d9core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q376383genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q376383seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Tailleferrebiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Tailleferre
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: notable long tail (listeners 0, 27 language versions)
Image: Studio Harcourt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q376383 · MusicBrainz: 2cf48701-c346-447c-947a-30a85a26f0d9
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