Marcel Mihalovici

Biography

Marcel Mihalovici (Bucharest, 22 October 1898 – Paris, 12 August 1985) was a French composer born in Romania. He was discovered by George Enescu in Bucharest. He moved to Paris in 1919 (at age 21) to study under Vincent d'Indy. His works include his Sonata number 1 for violin and piano (1920), Mélusine opera (1920, libretto by Yvan Goll), his 1st string quartet (1923), 2nd string quartet (1931), Sonata number 2 for violin and piano (1941), Sonata for violin and cello (1944), Phèdre Opera (1949), Étude in two parts for piano and instrumental ensemble (1951) and Esercizio per archi (1960). Many of his piano works were first performed by his wife, the concert pianist Monique Haas.
Mihalovici was the original composer for the music of Samuel Beckett's radio play Cascando (1962). His Fifth Symphony features a soprano singing a setting of a Beckett poem, and he used Krapp's Last Tape as the basis for a small opera, Krapp, ou, La dernière bande. His memories of their friendship are recounted in the collected work Beckett at Sixty A Festschrift by John Calder, Calder and Boyars (1967).
A strong proponent of neoclassicism, during his career Mihalovici embraced a variety of contemporary styles, with a harmonic language ranging from chromaticism to serialism. Romanian folk music influenced his unconventional use of rhythmic variation and instrumental colour.

List of Works (by opus number)

(Works with "op. ??" are placed at the point in the list where they are presumed to have been composed)

op. 6 – Three Nocturnes; piano
op. 11 – Sonatine; piano
op. 12 – Dialogues; clarinet and piano
op. 13 – Sonatine; oboe or violin and piano
op. 18 – Chansons et Jeux (Romanian Poems); voice and piano
op. 19 – Impromptu Pieces; piano
op. ?? – Sonata no. 1; violin and piano
op. ?? – String Quartet no. 1
op. 23 – Karagueuz; puppet ballet for orchestra or 4-hand piano
op. 25 - Trois romances de Victor Hugo, piano and voice, published 1932
op. 26 – Fantaisie for orchestra (performed at the 1930 ISCM Festival in Liège)
op. 27 – The Intransigent Pluto, or, Orpheus in the Underworld; opera in one act
op. 28 – Chindia; radio-orchestra
op. 29 – Four Caprices; piano
op. 30 – Trio 'Serenade'; violin, viola, and cello
op. 31 – String Quartet no. 2
op. 32 – Chanson, Pastorale, Rumanian Dance; piano
op. 33 – Concerto (Quasi una Fantasia); violin and orchestra
op. 35 – Sonata; clarinet trio (E-flat, A, and bass clarinet in B-flat)
op. 37 – Five Bagatelles; piano
op. 38 – Divertissement; small orchestra
op. 40 – Rhapsody Concertante; orchestra
op. 42 – Prelude and Invention; string orchestra
op. 44 – Toccata; piano and orchestra (or 2 pianos)
op. 45 – Sonata no. 2; violin and piano
op. 46 – Ricarcari, Variations; piano
op. 47 – Sonata; viola and piano
op. ?? – Sequences; orchestra
op. 50 – Sonata; violin and cello
op. 51 – Counter-Rhymes, 3 songs; voice and piano
op. 52 – String Quartet no. 3
op. 54 – Variations; horns and strings
op. 58 – Phèdre; opera in five scenes
op. 59 – Sonata; solo violin
op. 60 – Sonata; solo cello
op. 61 – Ritournelles; orchestra
op. 62 – Four Pastorales; piano
op. 63 – Three Nocturnes; piano
op. 64 – Etude in Two Parties; piano, winds, brass, celeste, and percussion
op. 65 – Sinfonia giocosa (Symphony no. 1); orchestra
op. 66 – Sinfonia partita (Symphony no. 2); string orchestra
op. 67 – Two Poems by Agrippa D'Aubigne; SATB chorus
op. 68 – Memorial (Five Motets); chorus
op. ?? – Symphonies for Present Times; orchestra
op. 70 – The Homecoming; opera in one act
op. 71 – Trio; oboe, clarinet, and bassoon
op. 72 – Elegy; orchestra
op. 73 – Scenes from Thésée (Ballet); orchestra
op. 74 – Alternamenti (Ballet); orchestra
op. 75 – Evening Songs, Four Poems by Yvan Goll; voice and piano
op. 76 – Tragic Overture; orchestra
op. ?? – Sonata; bassoon and piano
op. 78 – Sonata; B-flat clarinet and piano
op. ?? – Scherzo-Waltz; B-flat trumpet and piano
op. ?? – Meditation; C or B-flat trumpet and piano
op. ?? – Novelette; bassoon and piano
op. ?? – Episode; Horn in F and piano
op. 80 – Exercise; string orchestra
op. 81 – Krapp's Last Tape (Beckett); opera
op. 82 – Sinfonia variata (Symphony no. 3); orchestra
op. 83 – Improvisations; percussion and piano
op. 84 – The Twins; opera in three acts
op. 87 – Musique Nocturne; clarinet and chamber orchestra
op. 88 – Sinfonia Cantata (Symphony no. 4); baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra
op. 89 – Aubade; string orchestra
op. 90 – Sonata; piano
op. 92 – Dialogues; clarinet and piano
op. 93 – Périples; small orchestra
op. 94 – Symphony no. 5 (in memory of Hans Rosbaud)
op. 95 – Pretexts; oboe, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, and strings
op. 96 – Variantes; F horn and piano
op. 97 – Cantus Firmus; two pianos
op. 98 – Rondo; orchestra
op. 99 – Serioso; bass saxhorn and piano
op. 100 – Cantilène; mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra
op. 101 – Recit; solo clarinet
op. 102 – Melopeia; oboe solo
op. 103 – Chant Premier (Sonata); tenor saxophone and orchestra
op. 104 – Texts; viola and piano
op. 105 – Passacaglia for One Hand; piano
op. 106 – Follia, Paraphrases; orchestra
op. 107 – Délié (Cantata); soprano and orchestra (or piano)
op. 108 – Sonata-Danse; cello and piano
op. 109 – Malinconia (Cantata); soprano, bass, string quartet, and orchestra
op. 110 – Sonata; viola solo
op. 111 – String Quartet no. 4
op. 112 – Mirror of Songs; flute and piano
op. 113 – Torse (Meditation); violin solo
op. 114 – Elegy no. 2; violin and piano