AURIC (Georges). - Lot 23

AURIC (Georges). Born in Lodève. 1899–1983. Composer. A friend of Stravinsky and Satie, he joined the Group of Six. He served as president of the Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers (SACEM), as a director of the Association of National Opera Houses from 1962 to 1968, and as a member of the cultural council of the Cercle Culturel de Royaumont. Autograph letter signed “Georges Auric” to organist and music critic Bernard Gavoty. Paris, March 19, 1965. 1 page, in-8 format, on letterhead of the Réunion des Théâtres lyriques nationaux, of which he was a director. LETTER. Auric thanks him for his article: …These few lines will convey to you—all too briefly—how deeply moved I was by what you have just written about me… My most sincere “thank you” for the kindness you show, in these pages that I will never forget, toward a musician who would be happy to still have the opportunity to prove that he is not quite dead to his art! As I read your words, I realized just how exciting it would be for me to finally be able to offer you a “premiere” in the not-too-distant future… GEORGES AURIC studied composition with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum. Between 1915 and 1921, he associated with Stravinsky, Apollinaire, Radiguet, Braque, Picasso, Léon Bloy, and Jacques Maritain, as well as Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie, and became the most active member of the “Group of Six.” In 1918, Cocteau dedicated *Le Coq et l’arlequin* to him. He also composed about a hundred film scores for Marc Allégret, Jean Delannoy, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Max Ophüls, William Wyler, John Houston, and Otto Preminger.He wrote music columns for various magazines. In 1954, he succeeded Honegger as president of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs and became its honorary president in 1979. He was elected to the Institut de France in 1962. From 1962 to 1968, he served as director of the Opéra and the Opéra Comique in Paris.