Frédéric Blanc
Frédéric Blanc (born 1967) is a French composer, organist and improvisor. The last student of Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, he is based as titular organist of Notre-Dame d'Auteuil in Paris. He has played concerts and given masterclasses internationally, especially in the United States. He is focused on the French organ tradition and improvisation.[1]
Frédéric Blanc | |
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| Born | 1967 (age 53–54) Bordeaux, France |
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Life
Born in Bordeaux in 1967, Blanc first studied law for a year, then organ at the conservatories of Toulouse and Bordeaux with André Fleury, Marie-Claire Alain, Pierre Cogen and, from 1991, with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé,[1][2][3] as her last student.[1]

From 1987 to 1995, he was assistant organist at the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse,[1][4] and from 1993 to 1999 lecturer in organ at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux. In 1997, he won the Grand Prix d'improvisation of the international organ competition Concours internationaux de la Ville de Paris.[2] Since 1999, Blanc has been titular organist at Notre-Dame d'Auteuil in Paris which features a Cavaillé-Coll organ.[2][5] In August 2003, he was a lecturer at the International Altenberg Organ Academy for Improvisation. He is also a member of the organ commission of Paris and a member of the commission for non-historic organs in the music department of the French Ministry of Culture.[1][2][6]
He has won numerous competitions, including second prize at the Grand Prix de Chartres (1996), and the international organ competition Concours internationaux de la Ville de Paris (1997).[1][2][7][8]
Blanc has held organ masterclasses, for example at the Royal Academy of Music in London and increasingly at U.S. universities, such as Valparaiso University, Indiana, Stanford University, California, Hope College in Holland, Michigan, Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, University of Michigan and Arizona State University.[2][9] He was invited to give concerts at international festivals.[1]
Competitions
Publications
- Frédéric Blanc, François Sabatier (ed.): André Fleury (1903–1995). In: L'Orgue: Cahiers et memoirs No. 55. Association des Amis de l'Orgue, Paris 1996.[2]
- Maurice Duruflé – Mémoires et écrits 1936–1986. Éditions Séguier, Biarritz 2005, ISBN 2-84049-411-6.[2][11]
- Berceuse à la mémoire de Louis Vierne. Reconstruction of improvisations by Pierre Cochereau. Éditions Chantraine/Musikverlag Dr. J. Butz, 1997.[2]
Recordings
- Blanc, Frederic (1991), Messe improvisée (in German), Motette-Ursina-Schallplattenverlag, OCLC 724859485
- Blanc, Frederic (1990), Les grandes orgues Cavaillé-Coll de la Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse 1889–1989 (in no linguistic content), Ursina Motette, OCLC 25129560
- Live Improvisations. 1999, Aeolus AE-10091, CD (Organs of Chartres Cathedral, Bonn Minster, Angoulême Cathedral and Saint-Sernin, Toulouse). OCLC 903381662
- Hommage à André Fleury Vol. 2. 2002, Aeolus AE-10151, CD (Église Notre-Dame-d'Auteuil).[12][13] OCLC 903126822
- Improvisations pour le temps pascal, Improvisations on Easter themes, Baroque Notes 2003, CD (Aeolian Skinner organ of the Perkins Chapel of the Dallas University). OCLC 62748589
- "BLANC, F.: Improvisation sur deux themes donnes". Naxos Digital Services US Inc. OCLC 885057750. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "BLANC, F.: Improvisation sur le nom de Colette Morillon". Naxos Digital Services US Inc. 2012. OCLC 885053698. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
References
- "Frédéric Blanc, orgue". eol.asso.online.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Eighth Annual Organ Concert Series, 2011–2012". Hyde Park Church. 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Frédéric BLANC – AGOC". Les Grandes Orgues de Chartres. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "Frédéric Blanc / Artists / AEOLUS". aeolus-music.com. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "ORGAN CONCERT WITH FRÉDÉRIC BLANC". Oslo Church Music Festival. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "Festival Biarritz en Chamades : Frédéric Blanc à l'orgue de Saint-Joseph ce dimanche". Baskulture (in French). 15 October 2020.
- Muñoz, Frédéric (19 February 2012). "Frédéric Blanc, organiste : l'improvisation au sommet". resmusica.com (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Frédéric Blanc". babelio.com (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "29 mars 2019 – Frédéric Blanc". orgue-st-bruno-bordeaux.fr 2019 (in French). 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Frédéric Blanc". organimprovisation.com (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Internationaler Orgelsommer 2015: Fréderic Blanc, Paris". Bistum Fulda (in German). 24 April 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- "Église Notre-Dame-d'Auteuil". musiqueorguequebec.ca (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Frédéric Blanc" (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2021.
External links
- Official website
- "Biography". fredericblanc.org. Retrieved 7 November 2021.