Marcel Moyse

Moyse worked between 1889 and 1984 across musician, teacher, conductor and composer. The registers place that work in classical music. This article rests on 50 catalogued compositions, 7 published texts, 4 issued recordings and 17 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Marcel Moyse • Born — May 17, 1889 • Birthplace — St. Amour, France • Died — 1 November 1984 • Place of death — Brattleboro, Vermont • Occupation — Soloist, virtuoso, teacher • Genre — Classical • Instrument — Flute

Marcel Moyse moved to Paris in 1904 to live with his uncle, Joseph Moyse. By living with his uncle, Marcel observed firsthand the life of the average professional musician. Joseph played in the cello section of the Lamoureux Orchestra, or Concerts Lamoureux, a highly respected musical institution founded in 1881 by Charles Lamoureux. Marcel depended on his uncle to interpret Parisian life and to guide him in determining his place in it. Joseph established a plan for his nephew, designed to bring him socially and intellectually up to speed. In the first month, Marcel could do what he pleased: attend concerts, visit museums, stroll the streets. Marcel had told his uncle that he wanted to be a sculptor, so Joseph enrolled him in a drawing class at the Ecole Boule, however Joseph also intended to find him a flute teacher. With the help of Alfred Moyse, Joseph purchased a new flute for Marcel and immediately assigned him several daily practice sessions of forty-five minutes each, interspersed with fifteen minutes of reading from his extensive personal library. Along with this extensive study on flute, Joseph took Marcel to rehearsals and concerts to give Marcel an insight into what was possible for the future. In May 1904, Joseph presented Marcel to Adolphe Hennebains. Hennebains remarked favorably on the boy's abilities and accepted him as a pupil, a decision that brought Marcel one giant step closer to the Conservatoire. After just a few months of studying with Hennebains, Moyse made swift progress with him and was invited to audit Paul Taffanel's class at the Paris Conservatoire. Taffanel was looked upon highly and although by the time Moyse had him as a teacher, Taffanel was sixty and retired from playing, Moyse's time with Taffanel was invaluable. Moyse immediately grasped the standard repertoire required for admittance into the Conservatoire. Under the guidance of Hennebains and with the approval of Taffanel, Moyse auditioned for and won a place in the flute class at the Paris Conservatoire in the fall of 1905. In 1906 with only one year of Conservatoire training, Moyse performed the newly written exam piece, Nocturne et Allegro scherzando by Philippe Gaubert. If Moyse was nervous, he did not betray it in his performance, with the stretching melody of the nocturne and the skipping, whimsical turns of the scherzo were perfect vehicles for his expressive tone and nimble technique. At the age of seventeen, Moyse accepted the first prize and was deemed ready for a professional career. Moyse had become one of a handful of flutists in the history of the Conservatoire to qualify for a first prize in one year, but his playing lacked polish, and he knew it. Soon after leaving the school he approached Hennebains for more lessons, but his former teacher turned him down, saying the eighteen-year-old was already an accomplished artist. So Moyse went to Philippe Gaubert, who then played with the Opéra and the Société des Concerts. Gaubert, who had been impressed by Moyse's performance of his concours solo, was pleased to accept him as a private student, every Friday at five o'clock in the evening. Moyse remained with Gaubert for about four years. "Gaubert was an instinctive musician," Moyse recalled. "He played as naturally as someone walks, stepping out with his left foot, then his right, avoiding all obstacles. The musical instinct of Gaubert was like an instinct of the body--music without thinking about it."

Diligent practice, additional study, and a growing number of performing opportunities in the 1906-07 season absorbed Moyse completely. After having studied in Lucien Capet's chamber music class, he continued independently to work through the repertoire for solo violin and eventually added cello literature to his practice sessions, "to try to develop a rich sound, as my uncle had on his cello." In 1913, Moyse toured the United States with operatic soprano Nellie Melba in her private train. Soon after, World War I arrived and Moyse was rejected by the army because of recurring pneumonia. This was a very difficult time in his life, particularly as Moyse was slowly trying to rebuild his health. From the years 1916 to 1918, Nadia Boulanger invited Moyse to play at her classes on musical analysis. Moyse was principal flute soloist in Paris's Opéra Comique and simultaneously, in order to prove himself, applied for the solo flute position at the Paris Opera. Although offered the position, he turned it down as it would interfere with his frequent visits home to St. Amour. Moyse's career continued to flourish, and he became the first flutist with the orchestra of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. In 1931, Moyse was teaching in Geneva when the flutist of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marcel Welsch, committed suicide. Welsch was scheduled to play Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the orchestra; it was Blanche Honegger who suggested Moyse as a replacement. This was the beginning of the famous Moyse Trio: Marcel - the founder and director - playing flute; Blanche, playing violin and viola; and his son Louis, playing both flute and piano. From its conception in 1934, the Moyse Trio performed and recorded for the next 20 years. In 1932, Moyse succeeded Philippe Gaubert as Professor at the Paris Conservatoire and in addition, was appointed Professor at the Geneva Conservatoire from 1933 to 1949, which entailed a weekly trip to Geneva. Geneva being fairly close to St. Amour, meant more frequent visits to the village where he was born and which he loved. He never failed to visit his adoptive mother when he passed by St. Amour. By 1936, he was on top of the world. He became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for his artistic contributions as a musician, and he traveled widely, performing in most of the major European cities, which included several performances and recordings in London. In 1938, he was invited to play at the Tanglewood Festival held in the United States for two weeks; both Blanche and Louis went with him as the Trio also had been invited by Arturo Toscanini to play on the NBC Radio in New York.

Marcel Moyse is recorded with the occupation conductor. Classed in the genre classical music. Established in Bibliothèque nationale de France under 13897773n. Recorded as musician, teacher, conductor and composer. Established in Library of Congress under n81022291. Established in Discogs under 1659281. Established in FAST under 68621.

• The Marcel Moyse Papers are housed in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City. The collection includes: rare photographs; letters to Moyse from well-known musicians such as Gaubert, Ibert, Rampal; manuscripts of unpublished study books; audio and videotapes of lessons and master classes.