Colette Maze

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Colette Maze
Colette Maze, c. 1934
Born
Colette Saulnier

(1914-06-16)16 June 1914
Paris, France
Died19 November 2023(2023-11-19) (aged 109)
Paris, France
EducationÉcole Normale de Musique de Paris
Occupations
  • Pianist
  • Piano teacher
ChildrenFabrice Maze [Wikidata]

Colette Maze (16 June 1914 – 19 November 2023) was a French classical pianist who studied with Alfred Cortot and Nadia Boulanger. She began recording in her 90s, with a preference for the music by Claude Debussy who was still alive when she was born. She released her seventh album in 2023, as possibly the oldest recording pianist. When she turned a centenarian, she became a favourite of social media.

Life[edit]

She was born Colette Saulnier in Paris on 16 June 1914.[1] Her father, Léon Pierre Saulnier, was the manager of a fertilizer plant.[2] Her grandmother played the piano,[3] and her mother, Denise Claire Piollet,[2] played violin, both giving concerts at their home.[3] The girl began playing the piano at age five.[3][4] She was educated at home until she was a teenager.[5] She studied piano at the École Normale de Musique in Paris from age 15. Her teachers were Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger[4] and Jeanne Blanchard. She received a Pleyel piano for her 18th birthday which she kept for life.[3]

She wanted to become a professional concert pianist, but her parents opposed the idea,[4] and she failed the final exam. She completed studies to be a piano teacher,[3] and taught decades at both the Ecole Normale de Musique and the conservatoire of Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine.[4]

After World War II she fell in love with a married man; she raised their son, Fabrice, as a single mother in a small apartment, cut off from her family.[3] She married Émile Fernand Maze, a musician, in Paris on 29 December 1958.[2]

She focused on music by composers from the Romantic period, such as Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy, saying:

I always preferred composers who gave me tenderness, like Schumann and Debussy. Music is an affective language, a poetic language. In music there is everything — nature, emotion, love, revolt, dreams; it's like a spiritual food.[3]

She was fond of the love story of Schumann and his wife Clara.[3] She recorded from her 90s until age 109, playing the piano daily for four hours[4] to maintain her memory.[3]

Maze died at her home in Paris on 19 November 2023, at age 109.[4][5]

Recording[edit]

When Maze was already in 90s, her son urged her to record, to preserve the tradition of Cortot's teaching, being one of his last surviving pupils, and her unique way of playing. While hesitant at first, she began recording on a Steinway piano in her apartment.[3]

She released seven classical albums, including a CD dedicated to Claude Debussy. In 2021, aged 107, she released her sixth album.[6][7][8][9] In 2023, aged 109, she released her seventh album,[10] including music by George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla, Schumann and again Debussy,[4] some of the works with guitarist and arranger Bertrand Cazé.[11]

She was a favourite of social media from age 100.[4]

Discography[edit]

  • Debussy, Claude (2004). Préludes 1er livre. Seven doc ; Siqtrib. EPI. OCLC 590014535.
  • Debussy, Claude (2014). Clair de lune ; Estampes ; Children's corner ; La plus que lente. OCLC 927456582.
  • Debussy, Claude (2015). Colette Maze Interpréte Claude Debussy. Continuo Classics. ASIN B00K5T1LHM.
  • 104 Ans de Piano. Continuo Classics. 2018. ASIN B07B14J44V.
  • Debussy, Claude; Satie, Erik; Ravel, Maurice; Su, Zhenzhen (2019). 105 Ans de Piano. Continuo Classics. OCLC 1182602339.
  • Debussy, Claude (2021). Un Siècle avec Debussy. Continuo Classics. ASIN B08ZVWPHB8.
  • Sakamoto, Ryuichi; Debussy, Claude; Piazzolla, Astor; Gershwin, George; Schumann, Robert (2023). 109 Ans de Piano. Continuo Classics.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Maze, Colette (in French). French National Library. 16 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Saulnier, 577". Archives de Paris (in French). 1914. p. 28. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beardsley, Eleanor (20 September 2021). "This French Pianist Has Been Playing For 102 Years And Just Released A New Album". NPR. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Gault, Philippe (22 November 2023). "La doyenne des pianistes et star des réseaux sociaux Colette Maze est morte à 109 ans" (in French). Radio Classique. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b Lebrecht, Norman (21 November 2023). "Oldest Recorded Pianist Dies, at 109". Slipped Disc. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  6. ^ Garcin, Jérôme (3 April 2018). "Colette Maze, la pianiste de 104 ans qui rajeunit Debussy". Bibliobs (in French).
  7. ^ "106-year-old passing time in lockdown playing piano". RTÉ. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  8. ^ "4e disque a 103 ans : la lecon de jeunesse de Colette Maze" (in French). Radio Classique. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  9. ^ Napolitano, Ardee (5 February 2021). "'Food for the spirit': French 106-year-old pianist to release sixth album". Reuters.
  10. ^ Thompson, Hannah (29 May 2023). "Frenchwoman and world's oldest pianist to release her 7th album". The Connexion. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b "4e disque a 103 ans : la lecon de jeunesse de Colette Maze". uvmdistribution.com (in French). 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.

External links[edit]

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