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André Jolivet
August 8, 1905 - December 20, 1974
born in Paris, France, composed during the Modern period
Biography
André Jolivet (1905-1974) was French music's most sophisticated primitivist. While conducting advanced experiments with rhythm and sonority, Jolivet also found inspiration in the magic arts of equatorial realms and the "primitive" aspects of such instruments as the flute and percussion. He declared that he was dedicated to "restoring music's original ancient sense, as the magical and incantatory expression of the religiosity of human communities."

Interested in drama, painting, and literature in his youth, Jolivet eventually turned to music, studying cello and music theory at Notre Dame de Clignancourt. At 15, he wrote a ballet, and designed its set and costumes. His parents, who were artists, urged him to take up teaching, a more secure profession than composing. Nevertheless, in 1928, after a brief pedagogical career, Jolivet began an intense study of compositional technique under Paul Le Flem. In 1930, Jolivet fell under the spell of avant-garde composer Edgard Varèse, under whose influence he became especially aware of the potential of percussion in chamber and orchestral compositions. Jolivet's early works, which include a dense, atonal String Quartet and an Andante for String Orchestra, demonstrate his intimacy with the techniques of Béla Bartók, Arnold Schoenberg, and Alban Berg.