Composer Bizet, Georges: biography and interesting facts

What was the name of the composer Bizet? Many scholars will immediately reply: Georges. This is true, and not really. Georges was given the name of a great musician at baptism, but in fact his name was Alexander Cesar Leopold.

Childhood and early years

The future composer Bizet was born on October 25, 1838 in the capital of France, Paris. His father, Adolf Bizet, earned a living by a hairdresser's business and directly manufacturing wigs. A little later, Adolf began to give music lessons, although he had no primary education in the field of art. Mother George, Eme, worked as a pianist, and her brother Francois Delsart became famous as a talented singer and vocal teacher, speaking at the courts of Louis Philippe and Napoleon III. Georges was the only child in the family. From an early age he learned to play the piano with his mother, demonstrating tremendous abilities, and already on October 9, 1848, two weeks before the tenth birthday, he entered the Paris Musical Conservatory. It was in this educational institution that a talented young man composed his first known compositions.

Musical career

In November 1855, at the age of seventeen, the young composer Bizet wrote the first symphony as a homework assignment. Until 1933, it remained unknown and was later discovered by chance in the archives of the library of the Paris Conservatory. For the first time this symphony was played in 1935, and it instantly received general recognition as a masterpiece written by a young but capable and inspired musician.

In subsequent years, the young composer participated in various creative competitions, seeking to win money prizes and prestigious prizes, and eventually won the competition of the authors of the opera, arranged by Offenbach. The first place and a prize of 1200 francs George shared with Charles Lecoq. In several other competitions, the already well- known composer Bizet won an impressive grant, for which he lived comfortably for the next five years. The first two years he spent in Rome, a year in Germany and the last two years in Paris.

In the prime of life

In July 1860, after Georges left Rome and was still traveling around Italy, it occurred to him to write a symphony of four parts, in which each fragment would represent the musical embodiment of the Italian city - Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples, respectively . However, in the same year, the composer Bizet learned that his mother was seriously ill, and was forced to finish Italian travel. In September 1860 he returned to Paris; A year later the mother of the musician passed away. Only in 1866 he finally wrote the first version of the finished symphony. Until 1871, he in every possible way corrected his musical composition - and died suddenly himself, and not having had time to bring the Italian-inspired creation to the ideal. In 1880 it was published under the name "Roman Symphony".

What did Bizet-composer really become famous for? "Carmen" - an opera written on the basis of the eponymous novel by the French writer Prosper Merimee, became his most significant and famous work. The main role of the musician was intended for mezzo-soprano. Most of the opera was written by the author in the summer of 1873, but it remained incomplete until the end of the following year, 1874. Probably, due to problems in his personal life and parting with his wife for as long as two months. Although the listeners at first did not take Carmen warmly, it remains the best work of Bizet.

Personal life

Composer Bizet married the daughter of his late teacher, Genevieve Halevy, June 3, 1869. When the Franco-Prussian War began in July of the following year, the musician, like many of his creative compatriots, joined the French National Guard. Because of the war and post-war chaos, George suspended work on many works. July 10, 1871 Genevieve gave birth to Georges the first and only child - a son named Jacques.

Death

Composer Bizet, whose biography is known to every professional musician, died of a heart attack at the age of thirty-six. There were rumors that Eli-Miriam Delabord, allegedly a illegitimate son of Charles-Valentine Alcan, could be indirectly guilty of Georges's death, since shortly before the death of the latter two men had arranged a swimming competition, after which Bizet caught a severe cold and fell with a fever. At the time, even suspected murder and suicide, as the left side of the neck of the composer found a wound similar to a gunshot. Historians, however, believe that this looked like a lymph node, which due to a serious illness and heart attack swelled and broke. Bizet died on the sixth anniversary of his own wedding, exactly three months after the first appearance of "Carmen". His death came suddenly when he began to find his own "adult", inimitable style. Georges Bizet was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris next to the equally famous musicians Chopin and Rossini.