Louis Courtinat
(1908 - 1992) was born in Neuilly le
Réal (Allier) France where he
started with an Eb alto saxhorn in the village brass
band led by his
father. In 1925, he entered the School of Music in
Moulins, where
received his first Prix de Cor. Living near Vichy,
he was fortunate to
meet the musicians performing for the season at the
Casino, including
the famous Maxime-Alphonse and Edouard Vuillermoz.
In 1926 he was
admitted to the Paris Conservatory, first out of 26
candidates. He won
the 1st Prize in 1932, after a leave in 1930 and 31
for his military
service. Meanwhile, he toured with l’Orchestre
Symphonique de Paris in
France and abroad, which was rare at the time.
Having heard orchestras
abroad - especially in Germany - he admired the ease
and safety of horn
players and the possibilities offered by their
instruments.
He was a member of orchestras of the Paramount and
Gaumont Palace cinemas, Theatre Marigny, and Theatre
du Chatelet for four years and a season at
Vichy. With the founding of l’Orchestre
National in 1934 he started as fourth horn, then as
Cor Solo in 1935, replacing Robert Blot who was
appointed to the l’Opera.
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M. Courtinat was also a facilitator of the formation of
the wind quintet
with soloists of the l’Orchestre National: The quintet
played several
hundred concerts around the world and won the Prix du
Disque twice. He
was the first French player to use a “German-style“ horn
in 1931. In
1934, the whole section of l’Orchestre National adopted
this
instriument, which raised a deep controversy for many
years. Around
1950, he became President of l’Orchestre National.
Louis Courtinat taught at l'Ecole de Musique
de Bourges for five years
and at l’Ecole Nationale d'Orleans from 1943 to 1951. He
was professor
and advisor for chamber music wind instruments to the
Summer Academies
of Bayreuth and Salzburg. Lecturer for two years at the
Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Paris . He often
participated on panels, at the
CNSM Paris, in the recruitment of players in orchestras
and
international competitions at Ancône, Munich,
Prague, not only to judge
horn players but other soloists and conductors. He
participated 22 times
in Concours International de Jeunes Chefs d’Orchestre de
Besançon. From
1960 to his retirement, he was director of the National
Radio
orchestras. He retired in Besançon, where he died
at age 84 on November
27, 1992
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