Biographies of Hans Huber, Ignace Paderewski and Paulet Thévenaz

Recent additions to this attractive pocket-format series include the first French-language biography of one of the most important exponents of Alemannic musical Romanticism, Hans Huber from Solothurn. Trained by Reinecke in Leipzig, like so many others, he spent most of his career in Basel. Although posterity has mainly remembered his eight symphonies or some of his chamber music scores, written in the wake of Schumann, Brahms and Raff, he gained notoriety in particular through the Festspiel commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of the composer in 1892.^e anniversary of the reunion of Basel and Kleinbasel, which earned him the title of Doctor of Philosophy. honoris causa at the University of Basel. He became one of Helvetia's leading musical figures, and along with his colleague Friedrich Hegar, was one of the most active initiators of the Association of Swiss Musicians, founded in 1900. Musicographer James Lyon retraces the stages of Huber's life and describes his main works, highlighting the influence of Alpine mythology, perceptible from his first symphony dedicated to the story of William Tell, and the humanist spirit prevalent in the Rhenish city.

Legendary Polish pianist, composer and politician Ignace Jan Paderewski lived from 1897 to 1940 in a sumptuous mansion in Tolochenaz, near the town of Morges, where receptions attracted many of the world's artistic celebrities, as well as fellow exiles. A much-admired performer, for whom Steinway had specially chartered rail convoys during an American tour in which he gave almost a hundred recitals, Paderewski was deeply concerned by the fate of his homeland, giving many speeches and concerts in support of a fund-raising campaign for compatriots who had fallen victim to the First World War. In 1919, once his country had regained its independence, he even agreed to chair the Council of Ministers, a sacrifice he repeated in 1940 when the government was forced to leave the country following the dismemberment of Poland. In this book, Antonin Scherrer, curator of the Paderewski Museum currently housed at Morges Castle, focuses on the illustrious musician's links with Switzerland, and in particular his diplomatic efforts, such as the internment of over 12,000 Polish refugee soldiers during the Second World War.

If peritonitis had not taken his life in 1921 at the age of 30, the exceptional talent of Geneva painter Paul, known as Paulet, Thévenaz would certainly have been more widely recognized, as would his originality as an Art Deco pioneer. Instead of attending the École des Beaux-Arts, his parents sent him to the École des Arts Industriels, where he acquired a solid knowledge of technical and ornamental drawing, which is reflected in his expressive portraits, watercolors, decors and other works, many of which are reproduced throughout the pages of this monograph. In addition to his gifts as a visual artist, Thévenaz also possessed a sense of movement. Discovering Jaques-Dalcroze's rhythmic classes at the Conservatoire, he became an enthusiastic follower, not only illustrating publications presenting the Dalcroze method with his sketches, but also taking part in a demonstration tour of Germany in 1908, initiating Russian dancers in St. Petersburg in 1911, then opening a rhythmic school in Paris, a discipline he also taught at the Opéra Garnier. Emigrating to the United States in 1916, he pursued his dual career, which was abruptly cut short by fate. With accuracy and emotion, Jean Pierre Pastori revives the memory of this endearing personality, ardent and free, with a meteoric brilliance.

James Lyon: Hans Huber ou l'humanisme musical bâlois, 64 p., Fr. 12.00, Infolio, Gollion 2025, ISBN 978-2-88968-182-2

Antonin Scherrer: Paderewski, le plus suisse des Polonais, 64 p., Fr. 12.00, Infolio, Gollion 2025, ISBN 978-2-88968-181-5

Jean Pierre Pastori: Thévenaz, formes et rythmes, 64 p., Fr. 12.00, Infolio, Gollion 2021, ISBN 978-2-88474-488-1