- Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Loriod (born
20 January 1924 ,Houilles ,Paris ,France ) is a Frenchpianist , and the widow of composerOlivier Messiaen . Her sister was theondes martenot playerJeanne Loriod .Loriod studied at the Paris Conservatoire and became one of Olivier Messiaen's most avid pupils. At the age of 25, she was appointed professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She went on to become a nationally-acclaimed recording artist and concert pianist, and premiered most of Messiaen's works for the piano starting in the 1940s. Both she and her sister Jeanne often performed as the soloists in his
Turangalîla-Symphonie . [cite news | author=Cynthia Millar | title=Obituary: Jeanne Loriod | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,547332,00.html | work=The Guardian | date=6 September 2001 | accessdate=2008-01-27]In 1961, Loriod married Olivier Messiaen following the death of his first wife,
Claire Delbos .cite news | author=Peter Hill | title=Sacred gift | url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1607630,00.html | work=The Guardian | date=4 November 2005 | accessdate=2008-01-27] She is generally considered to be the most important interpreter of Messiaen's piano works. In her later years, she and Messiaen acted as mentor to the pianistPierre-Laurent Aimard , who has since become a great champion of the works of Messiaen. [cite news | author=Andrew Clements | title=Mystery plays | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,,181961,00.html | work=The Guardian | date=24 March 2000 | accessdate=2008-01-27]References
External links
* [http://oliviermessiaen.net oliviermessiaen.net] A site devoted to Yvonne's teacher and spouse, Olivier Messiaen.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
