Jean Françaix

Jean René Désiré Françaix was born on 23 May 1912 in Le Mans (France). His father Alfred Françaix was a pianist, composer and director of the local conservatory, while his mother Jeanne, née Provost, taught singing and conducted a women's choir. Growing up in this musical environment, Françaix showed exceptional talent at an early age and began composing as a child. His piano suite "Pour Jacqueline", dedicated to his cousin, was published in 1922. In the same year he began studying composition with Nadia Boulanger, who remained an important mentor throughout his early career. Françaix entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1926, where he studied piano with Isidore Philipp and received a first prize in 1930.
Françaix soon established himself both as a pianist and a composer. His "Concertino for piano and orchestra" (1932) brought him considerable recognition, while his "Huit Bagatelles" were performed at the International Festival in Vienna that same year. During the 1930s he composed numerous chamber works, concertos and ballets, including "Scuola di ballo" (1933), produced by Léonide Massine for the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, "Le Roi nu" (1935) and his "Piano Concerto" (1936). In 1937 he married the singer and violinist Blanche Yvon, with whom he had three children. 
In 1939 Françaix completed his large-scale oratorio "L'Apocalypse selon Saint Jean", which was premiered in Paris in 1942 under Charles Munch. During the following decades he continued to work in almost every musical genre. His ballet "Les Demoiselles de la nuit", with a scenario by Jean Anouilh, was produced at the Paris Opera in 1948, and his opera "La Princesse de Clèves" received its premiere in Rouen in 1965. He also composed music for several films by Sacha Guitry, including "Si Versailles m'était conté" (1954). Alongside his compositional activities, Françaix maintained an international career as a pianist, frequently performing his own works and collaborating with musicians such as the cellist Maurice Gendron and, later, his daughter Claude.
His extensive catalogue eventually comprised more than 200 compositions, including five operas, sixteen ballets, numerous chamber works and concertos for a wide variety of instruments. Among his later compositions are "L'Horloge de Flore" for oboe and orchestra (1959), the Clarinet Concerto (1967) and his Second Wind Quintet (1987). 
He received numerous honours, including the Légion d'honneur and the International Arthur Honegger Prize. 
Françaix remained active as a composer until his final years and died on 25 September 1997 in Paris (France).

Sérénade B.E.A.

In my possession are a number of autograph music sketches by Jean Françaix, as well as an autograph letter written by him. All these documents were apparently sent to the Hungarian-born financier André Kostolany in 1958 and relate to Françaix's composition "Sérénade B.E.A".

The letter was written in Chatou on 14 July 1958 and is addressed to an unidentified gentleman (but most likely André Kostolany). Françaix first thanks the recipient for a recent meeting at a television studio, during which the latter had mentioned a book he had written. The main subject of the letter, however, concerns the American copyright of Françaix's Sérénade B.E.A., which was apparently held by the recipient. Françaix explains that this situation prevents his publisher Schott from publishing and distributing the music and arranging concert performances in the United States. He therefore asks the recipient to transfer the American copyright to Schott in Mainz. In return, Schott would ensure that Associated Music Publishers in New York would not collect any mechanical reproduction royalties for the work.

The accompanying music manuscripts are Jean Françaix's working sketches for his composition "Sérénade B.E.A.", written in 1952. The work has an unusual and rather romantic background. It was commissioned by André Kostolany as a musical gift for a woman named Béatrice, with whom he was in love. The three notes B-flat, E and A, which form the musical basis of the composition, represent the first three letters of her name.

According to a contemporary review published in the American magazine High Fidelity in May 1954, the intended recipient was the dancer Béatrice Goll. However, this identification has not yet been independently confirmed.

The love story apparently did not have a happy ending. As Julian Haylock reported in The Strad in 2009, Béatrice left Kostolany while Françaix was still working on the composition. This is said to explain the unusually melancholic epilogue, which forms a striking contrast to the predominantly light-hearted character of the preceding movements.

To facilitate further research into this composition, I am making scans of the documents described above available here.