Pierre Monteux Ranks at Number 51 in Conductor History
French and American conductor Pierre Monteux stands at number 51 in a retrospective ranking of 20th-century maestros, recognized for his premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) and major music director tenures in North America and Europe, classicalguy.substack.com reported. Born in Paris in 1875 to a shoe salesman and a piano teacher, Monteux entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age nine to study violin and composition.
Early Musical Training and Orchestral Experience in Paris
Monteux studied violin under Jules Garcin and Henri Berthelier, alongside classmates Fritz Kreisler, George Enescu, and Jacques Thibaud. He also studied harmony and theory with Albert Lavignac and composition with Charles Lenepveu. While still a student, he played violin at the Folies Bergère cabaret music hall, an environment he later credited for developing his keen sense of rhythm. At age 15, he switched to the viola and performed the premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Septet with the composer at the piano.
Monteux led major orchestras and recorded diverse repertoire
Monteux led major ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, while maintaining close associations with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. During the 1940s and 1950s, he produced an extensive catalog of recordings. While critics and musicians noted his particular affinity for French repertoire, he proved equally skilled in traditional German masterworks.
Which figures influenced or befriended Monteux?
Which famous composer praised Monteux’s viola playing?
Johannes Brahms praised Monteux’s performance of a Brahms quartet in Vienna, allegedly remarking, “It takes the French to play my music properly. The Germans all play it much too heavily.”
Who was Monteux’s lifelong pianist friend from his conservatory days?
Monteux developed a lifelong friendship with Alfred Cortot after the two studied together at the Conservatoire de Paris, leading Monteux at age 12 to organize a student orchestra to accompany Cortot on tour.
What notable premiere did Monteux conduct in addition to Stravinsky’s work?
As a violist, Monteux participated in the premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Septet with the composer on piano and performed Gabriel Fauré’s Second Piano Quartet with Fauré.
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