Honegger, Arthur

Composer Information

Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which was inspired by the sound of a steam locomotive. Born Oscar-Arthur Honegger (the first name was never used) to Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, he initially studied harmony and violin in Le Havre. After studying for two years at the Zurich Conservatory (merged in 1999 into the School of Music, Drama, and Dance (HMT), itself merged in 2007 into the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)), he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918, studying with both Charles-Marie Widor and Vincent d'Indy. He made his Paris compositional debut in 1916 and in 1918 wrote the ballet Le dit des jeux du monde, generally considered to be his first characteristic work. In 1926 he marriedAndrée Vaurabourg, a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire, on the condition that they live in separate apartments.   [source from Wikipedia]

Work

• Symphony No. 2, H. 153 - Symphony for Strings
• Symphony No. 5, H. 202 - Of the three Ds
• Pacific 231, H. 53
• Summer Pastoral, H. 31
• The Miserables, H. 88
• Concertino for Piano and Orchestra in E major, H. 55
• Amphion, H. 71
• A Christmas Cantata, H. 212
• Symphonic Movement No. 3, H. 83
• King David, H. 37
• The Tempest, H. 48
• Song of Joy, H. 47
• Violin Sonata, H. 143