Wilfrid Pelletier
Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as the orchestra's first artistic director and conductor from 1935 to 1941. He had a long and fruitful partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City that began with his appointment as a rehearsal accompanist in 1917; ultimately working there as one of the company's conductors in mainly the French opera repertoire from 1929 to 1950. From 1951 to 1966 he was the principal conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. He was also a featured conductor for a number of RCA Victor recordings, including an acclaimed reading of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem featuring baritone Mack Harrell and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and chorus. Pelletier was one of the most influential music educators in Canada during the 20th century. It was largely through his efforts that the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec (CMADQ), an organization which has established and oversees nine different schools of higher education in music and theatre in Quebec, was established in 1942. From 1943 through 1961 he served as the director of the CMADQ and its first school the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. He also served as the first director of the CMDAQ's second school, the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec, from 1944 to 1946, and was instrumental in establishing the Conservatoire d'art dramatique du Québec à Montréal in 1954. As a pianist, Pelletier was active during the 1920s and 1930s as one half of a piano duo with partner Arthur Loesser, the half-brother of Broadway composer Frank Loesser. The two made a number of recordings together that were made under the direction of Arthur Bodanzky. He also made a number of solo recordings and Ampico piano rolls in the early 1920s, playing mostly piano reductions from the operas of French composers like Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod, and Jules Massenet. As a composer, he produced only a small body of work, most notably In the Dark, in the Dew (published in Boston, 1923) which soprano Maria Jeritza included in a number of her recitals. He was married three times in his life, notably to opera singers Queena Mario and Rose Bampton. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-67 of 67 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-033735 | 10-in. | 2/16/1939 | Pourquoi me reveiller? | Richard Crooks ; Wilfrid Pelletier | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-033737 | 12-in. | 2/16/1939 | Mi par d'udir ancora | Richard Crooks ; Wilfrid Pelletier | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-033739 | 10-in. | 2/16/1939 | Amor ti vieta | Richard Crooks ; Wilfrid Pelletier | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-033740 | 10-in. | 2/16/1939 | If thou be near me | Richard Crooks ; Wilfrid Pelletier | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-036848 | 10-in. | 5/3/1939 | Battle hymn of the Republic | Wilfrid Pelletier ; Lawrence Tibbett | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-036852 | 10-in. | 5/3/1939 | My own United States | Wilfrid Pelletier ; Lawrence Tibbett | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-048199 | 12-in. | 3/22/1940 | Il nome vostro | Giuseppe De Luca ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Lily Pons | Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-048405 | 12-in. | 3/22/1940 | Dunque io son | Giuseppe De Luca ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Lily Pons | Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-056449 | 12-in. | 10/7/1940 | Adieu, notre petite table | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-056450 | 12-in. | 10/7/1940 | Gavotte : Obéissons, quand leur voix appelle | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-066317 | 10-in. | 6/21/1941 | O Canada | Disciples de Massenet ; Montreal Festivals Orchestra of 1941 | Mixed vocal chorus and orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-066318 | 10-in. | 6/21/1941 | God save the King | Disciples de Massenet ; Montreal Festivals Orchestra of 1941 | Mixed vocal chorus and orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-075259 | 10-in. | 6/5/1942 | Si mes vers avaient des ailes | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | BS-075260 | 10-in. | 6/5/1942 | Psyché | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-075261 | 12-in. | 6/5/1942 | Phidylé | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-075262 | 12-in. | 6/5/1942 | Il est doux, il est bon | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Victor | CS-075263 | 12-in. | 6/5/1942 | Ouvre ton cœur | Grace Moore ; Wilfrid Pelletier ; Victor Symphony Orchestra | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Pelletier, Wilfrid," accessed October 13, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104772.
Pelletier, Wilfrid. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 13, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104772.
"Pelletier, Wilfrid." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 13 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Wilfrid Pelletier
Discogs: Wilfrid Pelletier
Allmusic: Wilfrid Pelletier
Grove: Wilfrid Pelletier
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IMDb: Wilfrid Pelletier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Pelletier, Wilfrid, 1896-1982 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85006136
Wikidata: Wilfrid Pelletier - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1282645
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22332454
MusicBrainz: Wilfrid Pelletier - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6e71b8ff-badb-4be1-b738-409389325c17
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