Marcelle Meyer
Marcelle Meyer (French: [mɛjɛʁ]; 22 May 1897 – 17 November 1958) was a French pianist. She worked with a group of musicians known as Les Six of whom she was the favored pianist.
Biography
Marcelle Meyer was born in Lille, France on 22 May 1897. She was taught piano from the age of five by her sister Germaine, and entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1911 at age 14, studying with Alfred Cortot and Marguerite Long and taking the Premier Prix at age 16. She then studied Ravel with Ricardo Vines and Spanish Literature. She gave the first all-Debussy recital in Debussy's presence, premiering his etudes. Meyer also became Erik Satie's favored pianist and she also premiered Francis Poulenc's Sonata for piano four-hands with the composer. She premiered several of his works and recorded with him. In the early 1920s she also played for Darius Milhaud and Stravinsky. She became famous for her talent and played concerts in England, Holland, and Germany as well as many premieres, including works by Honegger, Roland-Manuel, and Igor Markevitch.[1]
In 1922 Jacques-Émile Blanche painted Marcelle Meyer in the company of Jean Cocteau and Les Six, a group of composers consisting of Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Tailleferre.
She died on 17 November 1958 in Paris after suffering a heart attack while playing at her sister's piano.
The singer Pierre Bernac was her first husband. She later married Carlo Di Vieto, an Italian lawyer, with whom she had two daughters.
References
- ↑ Allmusic, 23 July 2016.