Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet was among the creators of a 20th-century French style of orchestral interpretation. His association with DEBUSSY, SATIE, and RAVEL, and especially his long friendship with STRAVINSKY lent Ansermet a unique authority in his performances of their works. In his 48-year role as founder-conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ansermet conducted definitive performances of pieces not only by the modern French masters, but also by composers such as PROKOFIEVD, BARTÓK, and BRITTEN.
Ansermet was born in Vevey on November 11, 1883. Following in his father’s footsteps, he received, in 1903, a degree in mathematics, followed by a professorship in the field for four years at Lausanne University. He gradually took a greater interest in music and decided to study composition with Ernest Bloch. On his own he also learned conducting, taking Francisco de Lacerda, the conductor at Montreux, as his role model.
Ansermet’s first concerts as conductor were in Lausanne in 1910. He proved so adept at these concerts that the following year he was appointed conductor of the Kursaal concerts at Montreux. His reputation grew quickly and in 1915 he was appointed conductor of the Geneva Symphony Orchestra. It was during this time that he formed friendships with Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky—in fact, it was Stravinsky who secured for Ansermet the post of principal conductor with the Ballets Russes toward the end of that same year.
Beginning in 1916, Ansermet spent three years touring with the Ballets Russes both in North and South America as well as in England, establishing an international reputation for both the conductor and the ensemble. His work with the group included premieres of ballets by Stravinsky, Ravel, Manuel de FALLA, Prokofiev, and Satie, and in the same year he made his first recording with the group.
In 1918, Ansermet formed the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, based in Geneva, and conducted that orchestra until he retired in 1966. In his role as director and luminary of the orchestra, he advocated the work of the Swiss composers Arthur Honegger (1892–1955) and Frank Martin (1890–1974).
Ansermet’s conducting was characterised by rhythmic vigour and clarity of texture, joined by a scholarly attention to details of nuance and phrasing in the score. The list of premieres that he conducted illustrates the powerful influence he had on the music of the early 20th century: Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat, Pulcinella, Les noces, and the Symphony of Psalms; Ravel’s La valse-, Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat; Prokofiev’s The Buffoon; Satie’s Parade; and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia.
Despite Ansermet’s advocacy of early 20th-century music, by the 1950s he felt that serialism (composing using a set, predetermined pattern of 12 tones) had gone too far. In 1961, he published a treatise against serialism, titled Les Fondements de la musique dans la conscience humaine.In it, he attempted a mathematical proof of the logical necessity of basing music on the intervals of the thirds, fourths, and fifths. Not even the long friendship with Stravinsky, who employed serial techniques late in his career, survived this doctrinal difference.
Despite Ansermet’s rift with serialism, his legacy as one of the great conductors remains undiminished. Ansermet died in Geneva on February 20, 1969, yet his interpretive choices for the master works of early 20th-century music still resonate for musicians today.
Rachel Vetter Huang
SEE ALSO:
BALLET AND MODERN DANCE MUSIC; ORCHESTRAL MUSIC; SERIALISM.
FURTHER READING
Chesterman, Robert, ed. Conversations with Conductors (London: Robson, 1976).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande:
Manuel de Falla: Orchestral works; Bohuslav Martinu:
Frescoes of Piero della Francesca; Parables; Symphony No. 4.