Long, Marguerite (EN)

Long Marguerite, *13 November 1874 Nîmes, †13 February 1966 Paris, French pianist and teacher. She studied with A.-F. Marmontel at the Paris Conservatoire, where she taught from 1906 and was professor from 1920 to 1940; from 1921 she also taught at the École Normale. In 1893 she made her début at the Salle Pleyel. Drawing on her experience of working with Marmontel, she developed her own method of piano teaching, based on the constant refinement of technique, precise fingering, and the cultivation of a rounded finger position, which made possible the “pearly” playing characteristic of French pianists. She was a friend of C. Debussy, under whose guidance she worked on the performance of his works. Works were dedicated to her by E. Satie, G. Fauré, D. de Séverac, D. Milhaud, F. Poulenc, and E. Halffter. In 1919 she gave the first performance of Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin. She also gave premieres of works by Debussy, including the Études, and by Fauré, including pieces from the Barcarolles and Impromptus. In 1932 the first performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto, in G major dedicated to her, brought Long widespread recognition. On 11 March 1932 she appeared with Ravel in Warsaw. Together with J. Thibaud she founded the École M. Long–J. Thibaud in 1941 and, in 1943, a competition for pianists and violinists which still enjoys international renown. She gave the first public courses in the interpretation of the music of Fauré and Debussy. She trained many French pianists, including S. François, Y. Lefébure, L. Descaves, J. Doyen, J. Février, and N. Henriot. Long ranks among the outstanding performers of twentieth-century music, and her interpretations are regarded as exemplary.