Getting to Know Darius Milhaud Again

Cover of the album being discussed, showing both Madeline Milhaud and pianist Alexandre Tharaud

Back in my student days, one of the composers that particularly drew my attention was Darius Milhaud. He was one of the French composers in the group called Les Six, which had been organized by Jean Cocteau. However, his interest in music also took him across the Atlantic Ocean, where he was particularly drawn to Brazilian music.

Sadly, Milhaud gets little attention these days. I have not written about him on this site since November of 2024, when he received a generous share of attention from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music New Music Ensemble. Over the last few days, I have been listening to a Naxos album of piano music, which first became available in the winter of 2007. It consists of three multi-movement suites: Saudades do Brazil (inspired by a particular dance form from that country), La muse ménagère (the household muse), and L’album de Madame Bovary (inspired by the novel by Gustave Flaubert). The individual movements are, for the most part, short; but each of the suites has its own way for deploying them as a journey. In addition, the individual movements for the latter two suites are given verbal introductions, delivered by Madeline Milhaud, who married Darius (who happened to be her cousin) in 1925 and outlived him by a little more than a quarter century.

This release may not be a “must-have” item for many listeners. However, French was the first foreign language that I seriously mastered; and my interest in twentieth-century French composers was a major motivating factor. Listening to this Naxos album feels a bit like going into a time machine, but that invokes a journey that revives pleasant memories of my younger days!