Marguerite Long

Long's parents were not musicians, but her mother highly emphasized the importance of music and "little Marguerite was not allowed to play wrong notes.

[2] After her debut, composer Théodore Dubois visited the Long family to encourage Marguerite to pursue her music studies in Paris.

It is the only thing that can bring a little happiness.” [4] Maurice Ravel dedicated the last movement, the Toccata, of his 1917 suite Le tombeau de Couperin to Marliave and Long gave the first performance of this work in 1919.

Shortly after the concert in Castelnaudary, Marmontel encouraged the pianist to learn Fauré's third Valse-Caprice, which she was able to perform for the composer in spring, 1903.

[5] In May 1904 when Long planned a concert of all-Fauré program, she received a warm letter from the composer praising her for the “most ideal perfection” playing.

Some suspected that one reason was because of Fauré's newfound relationship with pianist Marguerite Hasselmans and the other was for not being promoted to “the professorship of a Classe Supérieure” at the Conservatorie in 1907 when her mentor, Marmontel, died.

However, because of Debussy's frequent appointments as one of the judges for the Paris Conservatoire during the years of 1910 and 1913, he eventually confronted Long and found out her fear of performing his composition.

Her faithful rendition of the composer's works earned not only the world's respect, but also Emma Debussy's recognition even after the death of her husband in 1918.

The 1930s was the time when Long received many national honors, including the Rosette de la Légion d'Honneur.

In 1938, the French government awarded Long with the Cravate Rouge (Red Tie) and promoted her rank to Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur, which honor was rarely given to a performer and especially not to a woman.

Eight composers, including Georges Auric, Marcel Delannoy, Jacques Ibert, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Henri Sauguet, Florent Schmitt, and Germaine Tailleferre, collaborated in dedicating a collection of pieces to Long, titled A l'Exposition.

On the other hand, nine foreign composers collected their pieces in a volume entitled Parc d'Attraction as an expression of their gratitude towards Long.

With the help of Marcelle Lyon, a widow who was a music lover and an amateur pianist, Long and Thibaud were able to establish their school, focusing on the teaching of violin-piano sonata playing.

Thibaud stated that "a violin school makes no sense unless it is in conjunction with the coaching of violin-piano sonatas, that is, the study of piano... To have pianists I immediately proposed a collaboration with our great artist Marguerite long.

Even though the war years reminded her of her loss during WWI, she remained positive and encouraged her students that "if my career has been what it is, it is because I never gave up, I always worked.

The centerpiece was the first performance of a collaborative orchestral suite written in her honor by eight French composers, titled Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long.

Starting at a young age, Marguerite was heard frequently in the salons of Paris, and her typical concert programs included major piano works of the Romantic period as well as contemporary pieces.

The concert won her positive reviews from La Nouvelle revue that her Beethoven Concerto was “played with admirable depth, emotion and joy”; the Liszt concerto “which is not only a prodigious accumulation of difficulties, but also a work full of chivalrous and noble passion, performed with an incomparable ardor and flame”; and “the Sixth Barcarolle, a delicious piece by G. Fauré, of whom Marguerite Long is the incomparable interpreter.” Even with her fame and her appointment at the Paris Conservatoire, Long did not give her first concert outside of France until 1907.

It pales, of course, next to the prodigious Concerto by Ravel, which, under Long's magic fingers met another triumph, but it is a valuable asset to the modern pianist's repertoire."

With the invitation from the Brazilian government, Long also gave concerto performances in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

In 1957, the Ministére de la Culture and members of the French government started sponsorship and actively participated in the board.