Pierre Nau

Pierre Nau was a French composer in the first half of the 20th century. There is no biographical information about him available. All I could find was some information about performances of his compositions from old newspapers. These details I would like to share and if you know more about the composer Pierre Nau, please let me know.

The name Pierre Nau as the composer of compositions appears in French newspapers only from the small time span from 1934 to 1939. It seems that Pierre Nau was located in Paris, because all his compositions were performed there and none was published. His works were performed several times at the "Vendredis Musicaux", founded and hosted by the pianist Ida Ackermann and singer Alice Derlange. These "Musical Fridays" were small and intimate concerts located both at the Galerie Gerbo or the salon of the Chocolat-Menier. These tiny concerts presented performers like Marthe Darvys, Gina Madelys (both singer) or Oreste Bodelaw (piano) who all performed works by Pierre Nau. 

In 1936 the work "Impressions" by Pierre Nau was performed by the Concerts Pasdeloup and broadcasted via Radio-Paris. His Cantabile for organ was performed by Bernard Schule. On 24 May 1938 the "Trois danses" for violin and piano by Pierre Nau were performed at the "Vendredis Musicaux" at the Galerie Gerbo by violinist Jadwiga Grabowska. Other compositions by Pierre Nau are a Prelude for organ and a song called "Spleen - Si mon amour etait la rose".

In my possession are two autograph manuscripts by Pierre Nau: "Trois danses breves" and "Twilight", both for violin and piano. 

The Trois danses are very likely identical to the work performed in 1938 by Jadwiga Grabowska. The manuscript also shows that the Trois danses are dedicated to Raymonde Bonin, who won first prize in violin at the Paris conservatory in 1929. 

The work Twilight was composed in October 1931 and is dedicated to Madame Gaston Chapuis, for which I found no further details.

If I put these bits together I come to the following suggestion of a biography: Pierre Nau was born around 1900 and studied music at the Paris conservatory. For that reason he knew musicians like Raymonde Bonin, a serious and well-educated violinist but of low public awareness. Maybe he was a fellow student to her. The first compositions by Pierre Nau appear in 1934 in concert, a fact that would also fit to a year of birth around 1900. The absence of his works since 1940 is surely caused by World War II. And due to the fact that there is not one note about Pierre Nau after 1940 makes it possible that he died during the war years, maybe on battleground.



Trois danses breves

The "three brief danses" for violin and piano were composed around 1935. The work is dedicated to Raymonde Bonin, a violinist who won first prize for violin at the Paris conservatory in 1929. The manuscript in my possession has an additional inscription by Pierre Nau to "Monsieur et Madame Charles Vernerey" in which he thanks for the brilliant performance of the work. Unfortunately I could not find further information neither on Raymonde Bonin nor on Charles Vernerey and his wife.

Twilight

The work Twilight for violin and piano was composed in October 1931 and is dedicated to a "Madame Gaston Chapuis". I could not find more information about this lady nor about a performance of the work.