Death of Quebec composer, 84

Death of Quebec composer, 84

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norman lebrecht

December 04, 2020

The much admired André Gagnon has died of a neurogeneraive condition.

Aside from success as a composer, he played piano for visiting French chansonniers such as Georges Moustaki and played Mozart concertos with the Montreal orchestras.


Comments

  • Daniel Poulin says:

    André Gagnon was a prolific composer who enjoyed tremendous popularity not only in Canada but also in Asia (Japan & South Korea) where he sold records by millions. He also composed an opéra titled “Nelligan” with Michel Tremblay (librettist). During a lengthy interview in 1996 he said: “Je fais la musique que j’ai envie de faire et c’est tout. J’écris la musique qui vient du plus profond de moi. Et si le public a décidé qu’il aimait ça, tant mieux, et pour lui, et pour moi”.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvLxHdDf6kE

  • Nicolas says:

    I’ll suggest another piece a little more interesting than “Le pianiste envolé” (really not in his “best of”). Here is the link to “Le Saint-Laurent”.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S97l4S8nloI

  • Emil says:

    Among other output, he composed Four Seasons based on melodies by four great Québec chansonniers, that have been recorded by Atma Classique.

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