René Herbin

René Herbin (1911 – 1 September 1953) was a French composer and pianist. He was killed in the Mount Cimet air disaster in the French Alps.

Life Born in Vitry-le-François, Herbin entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 14. There he studied piano with Isidore Philipp and composition with Noël Gallon and Henri Busser. He won two First Prizes. At 26, he accompanied the cellist Maurice Maréchal on a tour of the Middle East. After the Second World War broke out, Herbin was mobilized in 1939. He was taken prisoner in Germany where he remained in captivity for nearly five years in several forced labour camps. Interned in very precarious conditions, he nevertheless managed to write many works: a Sonata for violin and piano, Deïrdre des Douleurs for chamber orchestra, Sonata for piano, Album d'images, Preludes baroques, for piano. Returning to Paris in 1945, he resumed his activities as a pianist and composer, and premiered his first piano quartet in 1949 with the Trio Pasquier. In the early 1950s, he received commissions for work from the State and Radio . It was on this occasion that he composed Trois Songes pour orchestre (1951) and the Concerto pour piano (1952) whose posthumous premiere was ensured in 1956 by Vlado Perlemuter.

Death On September 1, 1953, René Herbin, accompanied by the violinist Jacques Thibaud, boarded the Paris–Saigon flight, the city where the musicians were expected to perform in concert. As they approached the planned stopover at Nice airport, their plane crashed on Mount Cimet in the French Alps. There were no survivors among the 42 people on board.

Société Musicale René Herbin In 1992, Elizabeth Herbin, pianist and daughter of the composer, founded the Société Musicale René Herbin, which was then presided over by Vlado Perlemuter and Henri Dutilleux. Its purpose is to make the man and his work known, and to disseminate his music, which is still not widely known and not very well recorded. It thus repairs what the untimely death of a 42-year-old musician recognized by his peers took away from the French musical life of the first half of the 20th century.

Compositions List of works by Herbin 1929: Toccata 1929–1930: 12 Préludes, for piano 1930: Fantaisie, for piano 1934: Ballade, for piano 1934–1935: 6 Études de haute virtuosité, for piano 1936: 6 pièces en forme de suite, for violin and piano 1936: Poème, for piano and cello 1940: Album d'images, for piano 1940–1941: 2 divertissements, for piano (Max Eschig) 1940–1941: Préludes baroques, for piano 1941: Préambule pour le "Chapeau chinois" de Franc Nohain, for piano, string quintet, flute, clarinet in Bb 1941: Préambule pour le "Chapeau chinois" de Franc Nohain, for piano, violin and cello 1942: Sonata for piano 1942: Sonata for violin and piano 1943: 3 Préludes baroques, for 2 pianos (author's transcription) 1943: Miniatures, for violin and piano [lost piano part] 1943: Suite fantasque, for piano 1944: Deïrdre des douleurs, for flute and piano (transcription by the author) 1944: Deïrdre des douleurs, version for chamber orchestra 1944: La mort et le pendu, for grand orchestre 1945: Burlesque, for clarinet in B flat and String Quartet 1945: Burlesque for piano and clarinet in B flat (transcription by the author) 1945: Mirages, for oboe and piano 1946: Thème et variation, for piano 1948: La mort et le pendu, for 2 pianos (author's transcription) 1948: La mort et le pendu, for 4-handed piano 1948: Poulenc-adagietto, for 2 pianos (transcription) 1948: Prière, for piano 1948: Prières, for string quartet 1949: 1st Piano Quartet 1949: Baptême, for flute and piano (transcription by the author) 1949: Baptême, for piano, flute, oboe, violin, cello and harp (premiere with Lily Laskine) 1949: Sonata for piano and cello 1950: Petite suite Radio française, for piano 1950: Petites pièces, for piano 1950: Petite suite Radio-française "dans l'esprit" des vieux contes français, for grand orchestre (commande de Radio-France) (premiered by Manuel Rosenthal) 1951: Divertissement, for chamber orchestra (commission from Radio-France) 1951: Divertissement, for piano, 2 violins, cello, double bass and drums 1951: Divertissement, for violin and piano (author's transcription) 1951: Dona Rosita ou le langage des fleurs, for piano, 2 violins and cello (transcription by the author) 1951: Dona Rosita ou le langage des fleurs, for voice and piano 1951: Trois songes, for large orchestra (commissioned by the State) 1951: 4 impromptus, for piano 1952: Concerto pour piano et orchestre (commissioned by the State) (premiered by Vlado Perlemuter) 1952: Polka, for 4-handed piano (transcription by the author). Dona Rosita) 1953: Dance for piano and saxophone in Eb (Billaudot) premiered by Vlado Perlemuter) 1953: Rossini-boutique-fantasque, for 2 pianos (transcription) 1953: Une fausse gavotte, for piano and clarinet in B flat(Billaudot)

Recordings René Herbin: 1st Quartet for piano and string trio, Élisabeth Herbin, piano; Alexis Galpérine, violin; Bruno Pasquier, viola; Mark Drobinsky cello (+ Florent Schmitt: Légende, String quartet Les Hasards), CD - 711, Éd. Gallo, 1993. Discography (Discogs)