Planté, Francis

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Planté, Francis

Planté, Francis , French pianist; b. Orthez, Basses-Pyrénées, March 2, 1839; d. St. Avit, near Mont-de-Marsan, Dec. 19, 1934. From 1849 he was a pupil of Marmontel at the Paris Cons., winning 1st prize after 7 months’ tuition. After a course in harmony in Bazin’s class (1853), he retired for private study for 10 years, and then reappeared as a pianist of finished technique and style. About 1900 he suddenly vanished from concert life, vowing that he would “never be seen again in public.” He created a sensation in 1915 when he was heard again in several concerts in Paris, but, in order to keep his strange vow, he was hidden from the view of the audience by a screen.

Bibliography

O. Comettant, F. P. (Paris, 1874); A. Dandelot, F. P.: Une Belle Vie d’artiste (Paris, 1920; 3rd ed., 1930); A. Lenoir and J. de Nahuque, F. P.: Doyen des pianistes (Paris, 1931).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire