Henri Tomasi and Radio: a protean Musician on the Waves

Christophe Bennet (1)

1 IReMus - Institut de Recherche en Musicologie

Between the ages of 30 and 45, i.e. at the beginning of his musical maturity, Henri Tomasi devoted his professional life to radio. A written version of a paper proposed at the " Henri Tomasi et la Méditerranée " (Henri Tomasi and the Mediterranean) symposium held in Marseille in September 2013, this article will notably show that his position as orchestra conductor and musical manageratn Radio-Colonial, then at Radio-Paris, was a genuine " springboard " for the composer. The gathering of a wide sampling of musical programs and broadcasting press articles of the thirties enables us to highlight an unknown aspect of this musician, especially in his relation with the emerging media. At first, we are going to see how this experience already underlines his humanist involvement by confronting the expression of his conceptions of the medium with the way his work was welcomed by the broadcasting protagonists. Secondly, the eclecticism of his production and his opening to exoticism are going to be verified through Tomasi's different appearances on the waves, either as a composer or as a conductor. Finally, a survey of his very diverse broadcasted works is going to show how the medium reinforced his quality of " protean musician " , posted at a crossroad of numerous and complementary aesthetics.

Mots clés: Tomasi; Radio; Broadcasting; Broadcasted music; France in the Thirties; Radio-Paris

Domaines: Musique, musicologie et arts de la scène

Christophe Bennet. Henri Tomasi and Radio: a protean Musician on the Waves. 2015. ⟨halshs-01146551⟩