Les Six

The French Composers and Their Mentors Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie

Robert Shapiro

• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9780720617740
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Classical Music

Theabsorbing, comprehensivestoryof an absolutely unique experiment in classical music, involvingmanykey figures of the Dada and Surrealist movements Les Six were a group of talented composers who came together in a unique collaboration that has never been matched in classical music, and here their remarkable story is told for the first time. A musical experiment originally conceived by Erik Satie and then built upon by Jean Cocteau, Les Six were also born out of the shock of the German invasion of France in 1914—an avant-garde riposte to German romanticism and Wagnerism. Les Six were all—and stillare—respected in music circles, but under the aegis of Cocteau, they found themselves moving among a whole new milieu: the likes of Picasso, René Clair, Blaise Cendrars, and Maurice Chevalier all appear in the story. But the story of Les Six goes on long after the heyday of Bohemian Paris—the group never officially disbanded and it was only in the last20 years that the last member died; moreover, their spouses, descendents, and associates are still active, ensuring that the remarkable legacy of this unique group survives.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• About the Author and About the Book
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1: Les Six
• Part 2: Sources of Information
• Illustrations
• Copyright
• Contacts Page
• Some Authors