Eugène Joseph Bozza (4 April 1905 – 28 September 1991) was a French composer and violinist. He was one of the most prolific composers of chamber music for wind instruments. Bozza's large ensemble works include five symphonies, operas, ballets, large choral work, wind band music, concertos, and many works for large brass or woodwind ensembles.
Biography
Childhood and early years (1905–1915)
Bozza was born in Nice to an Italian musician and a French woman. His father, Umberto Bozza, was a violinist who made his living playing in French casinos along the Mediterranean coast. His mother's name was Honoré Molina. With a professional musician for a father, Bozza was exposed to music early on. He began studying the violin with his father when he was only five years old. Under such expert tutelage, Bozza became an outstanding young violinist and would occasionally go with his father to performances and play with the orchestra. In 1915, at the age of ten, Bozza and his father moved to Italy to avoid the turmoil of World War I.
Formative years (1915–1934)
In Italy, Bozza studied violin, piano, and solfège in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He graduated in 1919 with a diploma as Professor of Violin. Bozza then returned to France and enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1922 where he studied violin with Édouard Nadaud. After two years of study, he earned the Conservatory's Premier Prix for violin and secured the chair of concert master at the Pasdeloup Orchestra in 1925. He married Juliette Arnaud, his first wife, in 1924 and had a son, Pierre, in 1925. After five years of touring Europe with the orchestra, Bozza resigned and returned to the Conservatory to study conducting with Henri Rabaud. His wife once confided that, "In fact, he was haunted by stage fright". Continuing his pattern of excellence, Bozza ended his study of conducting in 1931 by winning another Premier Prix, this time for conducting. Bozza was hired as the conductor for the Ballets Russes of Monte Carlo where he stayed for only a year before returning the Paris Conservatoire for a third and final time in 1932 to study musical composition. Following another two-year study with Henri Büsser, Bozza again won the Premier Prix for his area.
Another major influence on his compositional style was the result of the cultural infusion, which occurred during and following World War I. Over two million American soldiers were sent to Europe which included roughly 10% African American soldiers. The influx of American and African American soldiers brought new styles and attitudes about music which were assimilated in French culture. This style of music quickly became part of French popular music and Bozza was introduced to it at an early age. Elements of jazz style and harmony are present in many of his works.
Another significant element of Bozza's output was educational methods and étude books. During his tenure as director in Valenciennes, Bozza composed at least 18 étude collections for many instruments including violin, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, horn, and trombone. This compositional history lends itself as a partial explanation to the popularity of Bozza's music in academic institutions.
Important works
An unaccompanied work for solo flute, Image is a substantial piece that showcases many elements of flute technique including extreme registral and timbral changes and flutter tongue.
thumbnail|En Forêt for solo horn and piano
The Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra is a three-movement work and one of 19 concertos written by Bozza.
Bozza created a wide repertoire of music for Bassoon. Récit, Sicilienne et Rondo is a solo piece with piano accompaniment that explores both the high and low range of the bassoon. Due to its technical demands and lyrical melodies, this piece is a mainstay of the conservatory repertoire for bassoon.
Aria, a piece written for alto saxophone and piano, draws inspiration from the works of J. S. Bach, especially the Manual for the Fantasy in F and the Pastorale in F Major (BWV 590). It is one of his most frequently played works for saxophone and is also available in an edition for clarinet. The piece was written during Bozza's stay in Rome at the Villa de Medici for French saxophonist Marcel Mule. Some of the lore around this piece says that it was written very quickly after Bozza was questioned about how much he had accomplished in the first few months in Rome.
Nuages for saxophone quartet is indicative of the Impressionistic side of Bozza. This scherzo focuses on the image of clouds and showcases masterful technique on the saxophone. Written in 1946, this piece comes from his time as the director of the Paris Opéra Comique and had the best instrumentalists available to him.
In his horn solo, En forêt, the Impressionistic technique of planing can be seen in the piano part combined with a solo part that is masterfully written for the instrument. Bozza also reminds us of the horn's roots as hunting horns with frequent calls and responses. This piece is one of the mainstays of the solo horn repertoire.
New Orleans for bass trombone and piano is a solo work written in 1962 for bass saxhorn. Since that instrument has fallen to obscurity, this solo is now frequently played on bass trombone or tuba. Influenced heavily by the jazz culture of New Orleans, this piece explores many styles that might be heard walking around the city such as ragtime and dixieland.
Bozza's music has largely been a critical and popular success. His style was normally highly accessible to listeners, students, and academics; and he composed such a mass of solo and chamber music that his name is commonly heard in studios. Norman Heim, professor of clarinet at the University of Maryland, may have encapsulated the success of Bozza's work with this:
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"He is a performer's composer, in that the music is well written for the instrument, is challenging to play and enjoyable to rehearse. He is the listener's composer since the music is always interesting, and has a familiarity of melody and tonality that even the untrained ear can enjoy."
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A testament to the universality of his music is that when Bozza died at midnight on 28 September 1991, his woodwind quintet Scherzo was being played on Belgian Radio at the request of a listener.
Honours
- 1956: Chevalier de la Lègion d'Honneur
- Officer des Palmes Academiques
- Chevalier de la Couronne de Belgique
- Officer du Mérite Nationale
- Chevalier de la Couronne de Italie
- Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Letters
- Officer de l'Ordre du Nichaire-Iftukhar
- Médaille d'Argent de la Ville de Paris
- Grand Croix du Mèrit Musical
- Médaille de Vermeil Arts-Sciences-Lettres
- Médaille de la Ville de Valenciennes