Born 150 years ago today: bon vivant Reynaldo Hahn.
Hahn was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1874, the youngest of twelve children. His father was a German-Jewish businessman, a convert to Catholicism, who arrived in Venezuela in 1845 at the age of 22 and married a Venezuelan woman of Basque origin. Political instability drove the family to resettle in Paris, where young Reynaldo was given a cosmopolitan education.
He studied composition at the Paris Conservatory (which he entered at the age of 11) with Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet, among others. He took private lessons with Camille Saint-Saëns.
Hahn met Marcel Proust at the age of 19, and the two essentially combusted. Their affair lasted for two years and is thought to have been Proust’s only real relationship. The romance may have fizzled, but the friendship was lifelong. Hahn’s influence permeates Proust’s “Remembrance of Things Past” (a.k.a. “In Search of Lost Time”), often cited as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. It’s certainly one of the longest. It was Hahn who suggested the “petite phrase” that recurs symbolically throughout Proust’s magnum opus, really a theme from Saint-Saëns’ Violin Sonata in D minor.
Hahn composed operas, tone poems, concertos, chamber music, a successful operetta (“Ciboulette”), and a musical comedy (“Mozart”). But far and away he is best remembered for his elegant art songs – or mélodies – of which he composed over 100.
He certainly enjoyed the good life, nattily attired, living in a lavishly appointed flat, and always with fine cigarettes at hand. He also gained a considerable reputation as a most charming performer. His delightfully informal presentations at musical evenings of the Belle Epoque would involve him leaning far back at the piano, cigarette dangling from a corner of his mouth, and casting languid glances at the audience through long lashes. Sample his artistry below.
Happy 150, Reynaldo Hahn!
Hahn conducts one of his most frequently heard works, “Le bal de Béatrice d’Este” for winds, percussion, two harps, and piano
One of his most famous songs, “À Cloris”
Another, “L’heure exquise” (“The Exquisite Moment”)
Hahn sings in 1909. (Great photos too!)
Always fond of this one
Hahn’s Piano Concerto
