Jean Rivier
Illustration — Jean Rivier Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments. Rivier served as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory from 1948 until his retirement in 1966.
Also recorded as Jean Pierre Rivier
Jean Rivier

Anonymous Unknown author · Scan from the original work · Public domain
- Born
- 1896 · Villemomble.
- Died
- 1987 · La Penne-sur-Huveaune.
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- composer
- Fields
- symphony
- Movements
- classical music
- Education
- Conservatoire de Paris
- Teachers
- Jean Gallon · Maurice Emmanuel
- Languages
- French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Jean Rivier Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments. Rivier served as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory from 1948 until his retirement in 1966.
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Note VALÉORINE
Jean Rivier (1896–1987) was a composer, of French nationality. The composer was born in Villemomble and died in La Penne-sur-Huveaune.
Jean Rivier was educated at Conservatoire de Paris. The composer worked for Conservatoire de Paris. Jean Rivier was associated with classical music.
The work spans symphony. Languages used include French.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1685791 · wikipedia · Jean Rivier
In this article
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1896
Jean Rivier born at Villemomble.
1987
Jean Rivier died at La Penne-sur-Huveaune.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Villemomble.
Birth place
La Penne-sur-Huveaune.
Death place
Compositions
During the period 1948–1962, he shared this position with composer Darius Milhaud. Three of his notable students at the Paris Conservatory were Gareth Walters, Pedro Ipuche Riva, and Gerd Boder.
Jean Rivier studied at Conservatoire de Paris. Training under Jean Gallon and Maurice Emmanuel is recorded. Xavier Darasse and Gareth Walters are recorded as having studied under Jean Rivier. The recorded working language is French. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are symphony. Employment is recorded with Conservatoire de Paris.
• 3 Points Seches for piano • 4 Fantasmes for piano • 4 Sequences Dialogues (need instrumentation) • Alternances for piano • Andante espressivo ed allegro burlesco (three movements) for clarinet and piano • Aria for trumpet (or oboe) and organ • Brillances for 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, 2 trombones and 1 tuba • Capriccio (need instrumentation) • Comme une tendre berceuse for flute and piano • Concerto (arranged by Rene Decouais) (need instrumentation) • Concerto for alto saxophone, trumpet and string orchestra (1955) • Concerto for alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, 2 bassoons, trumpet, double bass • Concerto for bassoon and strings (1963) • Concerto for clarinet and string orchestra (1958) • Concerto for flute and piano • Concerto for oboe and orchestra (or piano) (1966) • Concerto for trumpet and strings • Concerto #1 in C for piano and orchestra (1940) • Concerto Brève for piano and strings (1953) • Concertino for saxophone and orchestra (or piano) • Concertino for viola and orchestra (1947) • Déjeuner sur l'herbe (need instrumentation) • Doloroso et giocoso for viola and piano (1969) • Duo for flute and clarinet in B • Espagnole for violin and piano • Grave et presto for saxophone quartet • Nocturne, his contribution to Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long • Le petit gondolier for piano • Les trois "S" for clarinet • Oiseau tendre for solo flute • Ouverture pour une opérette imaginaire • 3 Pastorales for Orchestra (1929) • Petite suite (for oboe, clarinet & bassoon, 1934) • Piece in D (Pièce en Ré pour contrebasse et piano, 1920) • Pour des mains amies for piano • Prière (need instrumentation) • Quatuor à cordes No. 1 (String Quartet No. 1) (1924) • Quatuor à cordes No. 2 (1940) • Rapsodie for trombone and piano • Requiem (need instrumentation) • Sonate for piano • Sonatine for flute and piano (1946) • Stridences for piano • String Trio • Symphony No. 1 (1931) • Symphony No. 2 in C major for string orchestra (1937) • Symphony No. 3 in G major for string orchestra (1937) • Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major for string orchestra (1947) • Symphony No. 5 in A minor (1950) • Symphony No. 6 in E minor "Les Présages" (1958) • Symphony No. 7 in F major "Les Contrastes" (1971) • Symphony No. 8 for string orchestra (1978) • Torrents for piano • Trois mouvements for clarinet and piano • Virevoltes for flute His complete piano works have been published in one volume by Salabert.
Discography
• Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Trumpet and Orchestra appears on French Saxophone Concertos, Naxos 8.225127; and on Virtuose Saxophonkonzerte, Koch Schwann • Oiseaux tendres appears on Manuela Wiesler: Flute Music Naxos BIS-CD-689 • String Quartets Nos 1 and 2, Mandelring Quartett. Audite 97.710 (2021) • Symphonies No. 3 in G, No. 4 in B, and No. 8 (all for strings) Calmel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Bernard Calmel, on Pavane CD ADW 7328 (1994) (currently out of print)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1685791: Jean Rivier
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Jean Rivier”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."Rivier, Jean (1896–1987)"
- 2.Kelly, Barbara L. Rivier, Jean. 2001.
- 3.Lazzaro, Federico. 1932. La Société Triton et l'« École de Paris ». Nouvelle histoire de la musique en France (1870–1950). March 12, 2020.
- 4.David Michael Tadlock. The published songs of Jean Rivier. University of Connecticut. January 1998.
- 5.Reviewed at MusicWeb International Retrieved 16 June 2025.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Jean Rivier, catalogue des œuvres. Paris: G. Billaudot 1993.
- "Jean Rivier" in Sax, Mule & Co by Jean-Pierre Thiollet, H & D, 2004, p. 169–170.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1685791: Jean RivierWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Jean Rivier studied at Conservatoire de Paris. He trained under Jean Gallon and Maurice Emmanuel. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The authorities additionally record the heading Jean Pierre Rivier. His recorded language was French.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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