Andrée Vaurabourg

Who was Andrée Vaurabourg?

Andrée Vaurabourg was a French pianist and teacher. She was the wife of Swiss-French composer Arthur Honegger, whom she met at the Paris Conservatoire in 1916. Honegger married her in 1926 on the condition that they live in separate apartments. They lived apart for the duration of their marriage, with the exceptions of an attempt at living together in 1935, which lasted less than a year, and the last year of Honegger's life, when he could no longer live alone. They had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932.

In September 1934, while traveling in Spain, Honegger's car ran into a tree after a tire burst. He only broke an ankle, but Vaurabourg, in the front passenger seat, broke both knees and was unable to walk for almost a year. She never fully recovered from the accident.

She studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire, receiving first prize in counterpoint. She often performed her husband's piano works.

Vaurabourg's students of counterpoint included Pierre Boulez and Roger Matton.