Rosenthal, Manuel

Rosenthal, Manuel , French conductor and composer; b. Paris, June 18, 1904. He studied solfège and violin at the Paris Cons., and composition with Ravel. In 1928 he made his conducting debut with the Concerts Pasdeloup in Paris. From 1934 until his mobilization as an infrantryman at the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he was co-conductor of the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion in Paris. After being held as a prisoner-of-war in Germany (1940–41), he was released and returned to France and became active in the Résistance. From 1944 to 1947 he was chief conductor of the French Radio orch. in Paris. In 1948 he became a teacher at the Coll. of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. He became conductor of the Seattle Sym. Orch. in 1949. In 1951 he was summarily dismissed for moral turpitude after it was learned that the soprano he has engaged as soloist with the orch. as Mme. Rosenthal was not his legal wife. In 1962 he became prof. of conducting at the Paris Cons. From 1964 to 1967 he was conductor of the Liège Sym. Orch. He made his belated Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Feb. 20, 1981, conducting a triple bill of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and Satie’s Parade. He continued to conduct there until 1988. In 1986 he conducted the Ring cycle at the Seattle Opera. Rosenthal publ. the books Satie, Ravel, Poulenc: An Intimate Memoir (Madras and N.Y., 1987), Musique durable (Paris, 1994), and Ravel: Souvenirs de Manuel Rosenthal (Paris, 1995). In 1992 he received the Grand Prix for music of the City of Paris. He also was honored as a Commandeur dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur.

Works

DRAMATIC: Rayon des soieries, comic opera (1926–28; Paris, June 2, 1930); Un baiser pour rien or La Folle du Logis, ballet (1928–29; Paris, June 15, 1936); Les Bootleggers, musical comedy (1932; Paris, April 1933); La Poule Noire, musical comedy (1934–37; Paris, May 31, 1937); Gaieté Parisienne, ballet after Offenbach (Monte Carlo, April 5, 1938); Que le diable l’emporte, ballet (1948); Les Femmes au Tombeau, lyric drama (1956; Paris, May 29, 1957); Hop, Signor!, lyric drama (1957–61; Toulouse, March 24, 1962). ORCH. : Sérénade (1927); Les Petits Métiers (1933); Jeanne d’Arc (1934–36); Saint François d’Assise, suite (1936–39); Musique de Table (1941); Noce Villageoise (1941); Symphonie de Noël (1947); Aesopi Convivium for Violin, Piano, and Orch. (1947–48); Magic Manhattan (1948); Sym. (1949; Paris, June 12, 1950); Offenbachiana (1953); Rondes Françaises (1955); Aeolus for Wind Quintet and Strings (1968); Deux Etudes en Camïeu for Strings and Percussion (1969); Le Temple de Mémoire (1975; Paris, Oct. 1976). CHAMBER: Sonatine for 2 Violins and Piano (1923); Saxophone- Marmelade for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1929); Trois Pièces for Harp and 6 Instruments (1937); Les Soirées du Petit Juas for String Quartet (1942); Juventas for Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, and Cello (1988). Piano : Valse des Pêcheurs à la Ligne (1927); Huit Bagatelles (1924); Six Caprices (1926); La Belle Zélie for 2 Pianos (1948). VOCAL: Cinq Chanons juives for Soprano or Tenor and Orch. (1925); Chansons d’Monsieur Bleu for Mezzo-soprano and Orch. (1932–34); Trois Mélodies for Mezzo- soprano or Tenor and Orch. (1933); Saint François d’Assise, oratorio for Reciter, Chorus, and Orch. (1936–39; Paris, Nov. 1, 1944); Trois Burlesques for Chorus and Orch. (1941); Trois Chansons d’Amour for Soprano and Orch. (1941); Trois Précieuses for Soprano and Orch. (1941); Deux Prières pour les Temps Malheureux for Baritone and Orch. (1942; Paris, June 10, 1963); Six Chansons d’Outre-Mer for Mezzo-soprano and Orch. (1942); Trois Chants de Femmes Berbères for Soprano, Contralto, and Orch. (1943–44); Le Pietà d’Avignon for 4 Soloists, String Orch., and Trumpet (1943); Cantata pour le Temps de la Nativité for Soprano, Chorus, and Orch. (1942); Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou for Soprano and Orch. (1944); Trois Pièces Liturgiques for Voice or Chorus and Orch. (1944); A Choeur Vaillant for Chorus (1952–53); Missa Deo Gratias for Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Bass, Chorus, and Orch. (1953; Paris, Jan. 1955); many songs for Voice and Piano.

Bibliography

D. Saudinos, M. R.: Une vie (Paris, 1992).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire