André Mathieu

André Mathieu (18 February 1929 – 2 June 1968) was a Canadian pianist and composer.

Life

Mathieu was born René André Rodolphe Mathieu on 18 February 1929 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were received very enthusiastically by the Parisian critics. They unanimously agreed that André Mathieu was a "Canadian Mozart".

Mathieu returned to Montreal for the holidays, but due to the outbreak of war he could not return to Europe. Instead, Mathieu performed in a series of recitals in Canada and the United States of America, and gave a performance at the New York City Town Hall on 3 February 1940. He remained in New York with his family until 1943, studying composition with Harold Morris and fulfilling concert and radio engagements. In 1941 when he was not yet 12 years old, Mathieu won the first prize at the composition competition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He also played his Concertino No. 2 for piano and orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Mathieu also played his compositions at a concert of the League of Composers.

In 1943 he returned to Montreal and gave numerous concerts performing Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and Ravel, as well as his own works.

In 1946 he left Montreal for Paris to study composition with Arthur Honegger and piano with Jules Gentil. Unfortunately the trip did not go as planned. Mathieu was disappointed by his teachers, bored and short of money. He felt lonely, homesick and vulnerable. In 1947 he returned to Montreal a changed man, tired and exhausted. He took part in Pianothons to break records at events. He also began teaching and continued to compose. During the following years he succumbed to alcoholism. He married Marie-Ange Massicotte in 1960, but their marriage was short-lived due to André's alcoholism and emotional problems. André died suddenly at the age of 39 on 2 June 1968 and was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal. He was a prolific composer and left behind a wide range of music.

The welcoming song and the official theme-music of the 1976 Montreal Olympics was arranged by Vic Vogel from Mathieu's works.

Among Mathieu's works for piano and violin are Fantaisie brésilienne, and his childhood was dramatized by Luc Dionne in the 2010 biographical drama film The Child Prodigy (L'enfant prodige).