André, Maurice
André, Maurice
André, Maurice, famous French trumpeter and pedagogue; b. Alès, May 21, 1933. After working as a coal miner as a youth (1947–51), during which time he took up the trumpet, he pursued formal studies with Barthélémy at the Paris Cons., receiving the Prix d’Honneur. He was first trumpeter in the Lamoureux Orch. (1953–60), the Orchestre Philharmonique de l’ORTF (1953–62), and the orch. of the Opéra-Comique (1962–67) in Paris. In 1954 he made his formal debut as a soloist in Paris; then won the Geneva (1955) and Munich (1963) international competitions. From 1967 he pursued an international career as a trumpet virtuoso. He also taught at the Paris Cons. (1967–78) and gave master classes at home and abroad. His exhaustive repertory ranged from works from the Baroque era to contemporary scores. Among composers who wrote works especially for him were Blacher, Jolivet, and Landowski.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire