Pierre-Octave Ferroud (1900–1936)
Toan-Yan
Pierre Octave Ferroud and his work
Pierre Octave Ferroud was a French composer, concert organiser and music critic. He studied harmony with Edouard Commette at the Lyon Conservatory and at the same time natural sciences at the University of Lyon.
In 1923, he became a music critic for the evening newspaper Paris-Soir. In Paris in the 1920s, he socialised with the musicians of the ‘Groupe des Six’, Jean Cocteau, Francis Poulenc and Igor Stravinsky and discovered the works of Bela Bartók and Paul Hindemith, among others, during his travels. He was a close friend of Francis Poulenc. Ferroud founded the ‘Société de Musique de Chambre Le Triton’ in 1932, which played an important role in the dissemination of contemporary music and publicised works by foreign composers that had rarely been performed in France.
He died at the age of 36 in a car accident while travelling in Hungary. Ferroud's works are characterised by rich counterpoint. They show influences from Bartók, Stravinsky and Hindemith.
Toan Yan is the third piece from the „Trois Pièces“
‘Toan-Yan’, the “Festival of the Double Five” (5th day of the 5th month), is one of the most important festivals in China alongside the Chinese New Year and the Moon Festival. According to legend, it dates back to the attempted rescue of Qu Yuan during the Warring States period (475-221 BC), who is said to have drowned himself in the Miluo Jiang River due to injustice suffered. The very lively and colourful festival commemorates this event. Ferroud uses an original Chinese melody in this composition.
Villa Patumbah
Zurich, Switzerland
Carl Fürchtegott Grob-Zundel, the owner of Villa Patumbah, came from a family of bakers in Zurich. He acquired his immense wealth through his involvement in tobacco plantations in Sumatra. Villa Patumbah - named after his plantation in Sumatra - was the most exclusive property in Zurich at the time. The architects Alfred Chiodera and Theophil Tschudy combined stylistic elements from the Gothic, Renaissance and Rococo periods with motifs inspired by the Far East to create a harmonious whole.
Today, Villa Patumbah is the headquarters of the Swiss Heritage Society.