Jacques Février

Who was Jacques Février?

Jacques Février was a French pianist and teacher.

Jacques Février was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the son of the composer Henry Février. He studied with Édouard Risler and Marguerite Long at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in 1921. In 1932 he and the composer were the soloists in the first performance of Francis Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos. Although Paul Wittgenstein premiered Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand, Février was expressly chosen by the composer to be the first French pianist to perform the work. He made many recordings of the French repertoire, receiving a Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy in 1963 for his recording of Ravel's piano works.

He also taught at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his students included Gabriel Tacchino and Alain Planès.

He died in Épinal in 1979, a few weeks after being struck by a car while walking in the countryside.