Léon Jehin
Léon Jehin (17 July 1853 – 14 February 1928) was a conductor and composer, especially associated with musical life and the opera house in Monte Carlo.[1] He also composed the national anthem of Monaco.
Life and career
Jehin was born at Spa, Belgium. studied at the conservatoire in Liege and then in Brussels. He was a violinist at La Monnaie in the Belgian capital, then conducted at Anvers, Aix-les-Bains and Covent Garden.[1] Having become an assistant conductor in Brussels, from 1889 until his death he was appointed the conductor of the Monte Carlo Opera in succession to Arthur Steck. His first performance there was leading Mireille.[2]
As well as conducting the central repertoire at the Monte Carlo opera, he conducted the premieres of the following operas:
- Hulda (Franck) 8 March 1894
- La jacquerie (Édouard Lalo and Arthur Coquard) 9 May 1895
- Ghiselle (Franck) 30 March 1896
- Messaline (Isidore de Lara) 21 March 1899
- Le jongleur de Notre-Dame (Massenet) 18 February 1902
- Chérubin (Massenet) 14 February 1905
- Don Procopio (Bizet) 10 March 1906
- Thérèse (Massenet) 7 February 1907
- Don Quichotte (Massenet) 19 February 1910
- Déjanire (Saint-Saëns) 14 March 1911
- Roma (Massenet) 17 February 1912
- Pénélope (Fauré) 4 March 1913
- Cléopâtre (Massenet) 23 February 1914
- Amadis (Massenet) 1 April 1922
In 1889 he married the mezzo-soprano Blanche Deschamps, with whom he had worked in Brussels.[2] In 1953 a centennial concert was held in his memory in the Casino.[1]
In 1910 at La Monnaie Jehin conducted Don Quichotte with the premiere cast and the Monte Carlo orchestra, as well as Ivan le terrible (premiere), and Le vieil aigle by Raoul Gunsbourg.[3] He died in Monaco, aged 74.
Compositions
Jehin’s compositions include a Hymne à la Charte for soloists, chorus and orchestra (Monte-Carlo, 1889), Scherzo symphonique (1902), Intermezzo for horn and orchestra (1909), a Marche Inaugurale (for the opening of the Musée Océanographique, 1909) and a Suite symphonique (1921).[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Favre G. Histoire Musicale de la Principauté de Monaco du XVIe au XXe siècle. Éditions des Archives du Palais Princier, Monaco/Éditions A et J Picard, Paris, 1974.
- ^ a b Walsh T J. Monte Carlo opera, 1879–1909. Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1975.
- ^ 'Computerised Archival Retrieval in Multimedia Enhanced Networking' - The digital opera archives of La Monnaie. http://carmen.demunt.be/ accessed 5 August 2011.
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