André Fleury (organist)

French musician

André Edouard Antoine Marie Fleury (25 July 1903 – 6 August 1995) was a French composer, pianist, organist, and pedagogue.

André Fleury was born in Neuilly sur Seine, France. He received his musical training as a private student of Henri Letocart (a former student of César Franck), and later, of André Marchal and Louis Vierne. At the Paris Conservatory, he studied organ with Eugène Gigout and received a first prize in organ performance and improvisation under Gigout's successor, Marcel Dupré, in 1926. Fleury also studied composition with Paul Vidal. In 1920, Fleury became Gigout's assistant at St. Augustin in Paris, and, later, also assistant of Charles Tournemire at Ste. Clotilde. He became titular organist at St. Augustin in 1930. In 1941, he was appointed professor of organ at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. After World War II, Fleury and his wife left Paris due to health reasons, and relocated to Dijon. In 1949, he succeeded Émile Poillot as titular organist at Dijon Cathedral and as professor of piano (a year later also of organ) at the Dijon Conservatory. In 1971, he accepted Jean Guillou’s invitation to become co titular organist at Saint Eustache in Paris. He also was appointed as professor of organ at the Schola Cantorum and as titular organist at Versailles Cathedral, this duty was taken over by Francis Vidil after his death. André Fleury died in 1995 at Le Vésinet, France, age 92, and was buried in Arcy sur Cure. As a composer, Fleury wrote numerous works for organ, many of which have not been published yet, however. He also performed extensively throughout Europe. André Fleury premiered several important organ compositions, such as the organ sonata of Darius Milhaud, Maurice Duruflé’s Scherzo op. 2, as well as La Nativité du Seigneur by Olivier Messiaen (the first integral performance of this organ cycle, after the premiere by Jean Langlais, Jean Yves Daniel Lesur, and Jean Jacques Grunenwald). Among his students were Bernard Gavoty, Pierre Cochereau, and Daniel Lesur.