École Normale de Musique de Paris


The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" is a leading conservatoire located in Paris. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 the term ecole normale meant a teacher training institution, and the school was intended to produce music teachers as well as concert performers.
Located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, it was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot. It is officially recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Communication and is under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The school is not recognised by the Bologna Process

History

The school was founded on 6 October 1919 as a private institution by French pianist Alfred Cortot and Auguste Mangeot, director of the magazine Le Monde musical.
In 1927, the school moved from a building in the rue Jouffroy-d'Abbans to 114 bis boulevard Malesherbes, a Belle Époque mansion given by the Marquise of Maleissye, where it is now situated.
In 1962, after Cortot's death, composer Pierre Petit became the school's new director. Two years later, 1964, conductor Charles Munch was named school president. In 1968, Henri Dutilleux succeeded Münch's position as president and stayed in office until 1974.

Management

The board of directors included musicians of renowned standing including Elliott Carter and Jean-Michel Damase.
Since 1 January 2013, Françoise Noël-Marquis has held the post of director of the school, replacing Henri Heugel.

Salle Cortot

In 1929, the renowned architect Auguste Perret, who also responsible for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, designed a new 500-seat concert hall for the school. Named "Salle Cortot" after the school's founder, the hall was designed in the "Art Deco" style. Cortot once described it as: "A hall which sounds like a Stradivarius".
In 2001, a restoration of the Hall was carried out with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and Liliane Bettencourt. Today it hosts more than 160 concerts and musical events every year. Both the Salle Cortot and the school are registered as historical landmarks by the French Administration.

Les Concerts de Midi & Demi

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30, a free concert at Salle Cortot is given by the school's students of higher levels and/or its professors. The concept of the program was started by Jacques Lagarde in 1981 and carried on with the direction by Narcis Bonet. Starting from the concert season of 2012-2013, Véronique Bonnecaze succeeded Bonet's place as its new artistic director.

Public masterclasses

Each year a set of public master classes with the participation of renowned musicians and artists is announced. Classes take place at Salle Cortot. Notable masters who have given lessons include Alfred Cortot himself, Samson François, Mstislav Rostropovich, Thomas Hampson, and more recently, masterclasses by Anne Queffélec, Inva Mula, Natalia Gutman, :fr:Karine Deshayes, François-René Duchâble, Vincent Le Texier and Mikhail Rudy.

Notable alumni and academics

Former distinguished members of faculty include Jean-François Antonioli, Pierre Bernac, Nadia Boulanger, Pablo Casals, Alfred Cortot, Georges Dandelot, Paul Dukas, Georges Enescu, Henri Dutilleux, Arthur Honegger, Wanda Landowska, Charles Munch, Yoshihisa Taïra, Jacques Thibaud, Jean Micault and Zino Francescatti.
Prominent current members of faculty include Mireille Alcantara, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Erik Berchot, Ludmila Valentinovna Berlinskaya, Narcís Bonet, Peggy Bouveret, Chantal de Buchy, Guy Deplus, Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri, Carol Dumas, Pascal Gallois, Jean-Marc Luisada, Roselyne Masset-Lecocq, Victoria Melki, Michel Merlet, Jean Mouillere, Isabelle Perrin, Alberto Ponce, Thomas Prevost, Joe Raposo, Bruno Rigutto, Rena Cherechevskaïa, Marie-Claude Theuveny, Pierre-Henri Xuereb, and Ramzi Yassa.
Illustrious alumni include composers İlhan Baran, André Boucourechliev, Elliott Carter, Gabriel Cusson, Jacob Druckman, Alain Gagnon, Gérard Grisey, Jacques Hétu, Simeon ten Holt, Leonid Karev, Sophie Lacaze, Bruno Mantovani, Zygmunt Mycielski, Ron Nelson, Nick Norton, Michel Perrault, Marcel Poot, Milton Estévez, Arturo Rodas, Joaquín Rodrigo, Antoni Szalowski, Julien Jâlal Eddine Weiss and Margrit Zimmermann; conductors Charles Bruck, Sylvain Cambreling, Aaron Scott, and composer conductor Vítězslava Kaprálová; harpists Rino Kageyama, Susann McDonald; musicologist Richard Hoppin, ethnomusicologist and Philippine National Artist José Maceda; cellists Antonio Janigro, organists Monique Gendron, pianists Paul Badura-Skoda, Jean-Paul Billaud, Richard Cass, Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Dino Ciani, Samson François, Ivan Ilić, Karen Keys, Yvonne Lefébure, Dinu Lipatti, Igor Markevitch, Jean Micault, Anilu Romero, Victor Paukstelis, Caroline Haffner, Florence Delaage, Art Simmons, Siheng Song, François Weigel, violinist Eric Rosenblith, and guitarist Rafael Andia; flute player and Minister of culture of Egypt Ines Abdel-Dayem.