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Biography
André Gagnon, OC, OQ, pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, actor (born 2 August 1936 in St-Pacôme-de-Kamouraska, QC; died 3 December 2020). André Gagnon was renowned for an eclectic mix of pop and classical music. He worked as accompanist, conductor or arranger for some of the great Quebec chansonniers before his career as a soloist. His compositions span a wide variety of musical styles and were especially popular in Japan. He won Juno Awards for his records Saga (1974) and Neiges (1975), and as best instrumentalist (1977 and 1995). He received the Prix Félix for instrumental album of the year 12 times between 1978 and 2017 and was awarded SOCAN's William Harold Moon Award for his contribution to Canadian music. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and an Officier of the Ordre National du Québec.
André Gagnon's music is not easy to classify. It ranges widely and audaciously combines elements from both classical and pop music. The Baroque pastiches Les Turluteries and Mes Quatre Saisons borrow forms and styles from Vivaldi and Bach but are given fresh significance by their incorporation of melodic materials from the popular cultures of Quebec. And Petit Concerto pour Carignan et orchestre (1976; performed by Jean Carignan and Yehudi Menuhin on CBC TV's The Music of Man in 1979) draws a witty analogy between the violin writing of the Baroque masters and Carignan's fiddling style.
Other Gagnon works visit composers of other eras: Mozart in Cher Amadeus; Chopin in Pour endormir ma mère. With a light hand, a tidy craft, an apparently warm heart (the pastiches are not satires), and no undue pretension, Gagnon in these works created entertainments based on the reconciliation of musical idioms that too often have been frozen into postures of mutual exclusion. At the same time, such compositions as Neiges, Smash, Chevauchée, Surprise, Donna, and Mouvements established Gagnon in the disco and pop fields.
Productions
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Artist Information
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