Grey, Madeleine, (real name, Madeleine Nathalie Grumberg)
Grey, Madeleine, (real name, Madeleine Nathalie Grumberg)
Grey, Madeleine, (real name, Madeleine Nathalie Grumberg), French mezzo-soprano; b. Villaines-la-Juhel, Mayenne, June 11, 1896; d. Paris, March 13, 1979. She was a student of Cortot (piano) and Hettich (voice) at the Paris Cons., and then devoted herself to a concert career. Faure wrote his Mirages for her, and served as her accompanist at the cycle’s premiere in Paris in 1919. Grey became particularly associated with the music of Ravel, who accompanied her in recordings of his Chansons hebraiques and Chansons madecasses in 1932. Canteloube dedicated his Chants d’Auvergne to her. Grey made many tours abroad, winning success in Italy, the U.S., and South America. She retired in 1952. While her command of diction and clarity of vocal timbre were especially suited to the French repertoire, she also championed works by Respighi, Malipiero, Villa Lobos, and other composers of her era.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire