TOMASI Henri

<p>Henri Tomasi was born in Marseille on August 17, 1901 of Corsican parents. These Mediterranean roots are a distinguishing feature of both the man and his work. Having entered the conservatory of his hometown, he brilliantly won the First Prize in music theory, piano and harmony. A poor childhood - which instilled in him an unshakeable sense of justice - forced him to play the piano at the age of 15 in the early movie houses, but through these improvisations he discovered his gifts for composition. He received a scholarship from the city of Marseille and continued his studies at the "Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique" in Paris. In 1927, he won both the "Grand Prix de Rome" and a unanimous first prize in conducting. He immediately began a double career as a composer and a conductor. He conducted at the "Concerts du Journal" and in the first radio stations created in France. As a composer he achieved early distinction with three symphonic poems: <i>Cyrnos</i> (1929), <i>Tam-Tam</i> (1931) and <i>Vocero</i> (1932). Married in 1928 to the painter Odette Camp, he had a son in 1944, which put an end to his temptation to join the Dominican monastic order. He was part of the group "Contemporary Music Triton" (1932) alongside, among others, Milhaud, Poulenc, Honegger and Prokofiev. After H. Tomasi and O. Camp at Cassis (1941) directing the greatest French and European ensembles (including National Orchestra, Concertgebouw, Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Monte-Carlo), he withdrew from conducting around 1956, due to the deafness that darkened the end of his career.  As such he was able completely to devote himself to composition. He died in Paris on January 13, 1971. Since 2001, the year of the centenary of his birth, his ashes have rested in Corsica in the cemetery of Penta di Casinca, the village of his father. His work - more than one hundred and thirty opus numbers - was equally important in opera and in symphonic music. His creative achievements resulted in the award in 1952 of the "Grand Prix de la Musique Française" (selected by SACEM), as well as the "Grand Prix Musical de la Ville de Paris"  in 1960. At the beginning of the 21st century, his music, performed by the most prestigious soloists and conductors enjoys an international audience in some forty countries. </p>