Juon Paul Juon

Paul Juon (Russian: Па́вел Фёдорович Юо́н, Pavel Fyodorovich Yuon; 6 March 1872 – 21 August 1940) was a Russian-born Swiss composer.

Life

He was born in Moscow, where his father was an insurance official. His parents were Swiss, and he went to a German Primary school in Moscow. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1889, where he studied violin with Jan Hřímalý and composition with Anton Arensky and Sergei Taneyev. He completed his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, under Woldemar Bargiel. His first (privately) printed works, two Romanzen (lieder) appeared in 1894, the year he began studies with Bargiel. During his time in Berlin he was a composition professor, employed by Joseph Joachim; his students included Hans Chemin-Petit, Werner Richard Heymann, Nikos Skalkottas, Henry Jolles, Pancho Vladigerov, Philipp Jarnach, Heinrich Kaminski, Lauri Ikonen, Max Trapp, Heino Kaski, Yrjö Kilpinen, Gerhart von Westerman, Hans Moltkau, Giannis Konstantinidis, Wilhelm Guttmann, Stefan Wolpe, Nicolas Nabokov and Gunnar Johansen. He retired to Switzerland in 1934, and died in Vevey.

Music

His works include sonatas for viola, cello, winds, and three for violin (the third was recorded on a multi-LP set called Musik zwischen den Kriegen : eine Berliner Dokumentation), four symphonies (including one in manuscript) and also a chamber symphony, four string quartets, several piano trios, piano quartets and piano quintets as well as one sextet for piano and strings from 1902 and a wind quintet, a number of concerted works including three violin concerti and a triple concerto with piano trio, many piano works and lieder, and a number of stage works including an opera Aleko.

Several of these works have been recorded on compact disc, including some of the sonatas, two of the concertos, two of the symphonies, all four string quartets and all of the piano trios. He is known to have orchestrated Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 4.

He also translated Arensky's 'Practical Studies in Harmony' into German.

Personal life and family

He was twice married: He married his first wife in Katharina Schalchalova, married in 1896, and had three children: Ina, Aja, Ralf. Katharina died in 1911. In 1912, he married to Marie Hegner-Günthert (called Armande) and together they also had three children: Stella, Irsa and Rémi. He dedicated his Mysterien, Op 59 to Armande in 1928.

His younger brother was the painter Konstantin Yuon.

Works

• Aleko, opera, 1896
• Psyche, Op. 32, Tanzpoem, 1906
• The Golden Temple Book, stage music, 1912
• The Poor Broom Makers, stage music, 1913
• Wächterweise in E major, Fantasie nach dänischen Volksl., for orchestra, Op. 31, 1906
• Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 42, 1909
• Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 49, 1912
• Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 88, 1931
• Episodes Concertantes for Piano Trio and Orchestra, Op. 45, by 1911 
• Mysterien for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 59, 1928
• Four string quartets: D major, Op. 5 (1896), B minor, Op. 11 (1896), A minor, Op. 29 (1904), String quartet, Op. 67 (1916)
• Three violin sonatas, Op. 7 in A (1898), Op. 69 in F (1920) and Op. 86 in B minor (1930)