Monday marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the remarkable French composer Charles Koechlin – whose name, it turns out, I have been mispronouncing for years (as if the “oe” were the equivalent of an umlauted “o” and the “ch” sounded like “sh”). In reality, the “oe” is said like an accented “e” (é) and the “ch” is hard, like a “k.” Who knew? Chalk it up to the composer’s German ancestry. Everyone repeat after me, then: Kake-LAN.
Koechlin had many enthusiasms. He was interested in medieval music, Bach, travel, and stereoscopic photography. He was a communist sympathizer, a pantheist, and an athlete. He was also extraordinarily prolific, perhaps due to all the time he saved by not shaving. Koechlin had one of the most enviable beards in all of classical music. Children would ask him why he grew his beard so long, and he would respond, “Because I like it!”
He was especially interested in early film stars (he wrote works in tribute to Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin and especially Lillian Harvey, who he basically stalked) and the “Jungle Books” of Rudyard Kipling. He wrote a series of orchestral works inspired by Kipling, which span most of his creative life. These were composed in a wide array of styles. Koechlin’s language could encompass impressionism, neo-classicism, polytonality and even quasi-serialism.
Despite being a figure of such energetic creativity, Koechlin is associated in most people’s minds with his orchestrations, especially those for Fauré’s “Pélleas and Mélisande” and Debussy’s “Khamma.” He also orchestrated Cole Porter’s ballet “Within the Quota.”
Naturally, I’ll be playing some of his original music on WWFM The Classical Network and wwfm.org, late Monday afternoon, to mark the big day, but it’s on Thursday morning that I’ll really be doing it up right, with FIVE HOURS of Koechlin’s music and orchestrations, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Curious to hear what he did with Schubert’s “Wanderer Fantasy?” Tune in then. We’ll also hear his wacky “Seven Stars Symphony” (like Messiaen, he had a weakness for the ondes martenot), and much more.
As for the pronunciation of his name, I’ll keep working on it. However, I can’t imagine that there’s that much “kake” in “Koechlin,” even if it is his 150th birthday.