Jean Cras, Polymath of Music and Letters

Bempechat (Center for European Studies, Harvard U.) provides the first critical biography of French scientist, inventor, philosopher, and composer Jean Cras (1879-1932). He contends that Cras, who was once as famous as Debussy and Ravel, is the missing link between the French post-Romantic generation of composers and the Impressionists, and explores how Cras developed his Impressionist style, which was influenced by Celtic folk idioms and his exotic travels. He also discusses specific works like Feuille de route; his inventions, including the navigational gyrocompass; and his military career. A works list is provided. The book is based on Bempechat's doctoral dissertation. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Paul-AndrAc BempAcchat studied at the Manhattan and Juilliard Schools of Music and the Sorbonne, where his mentors in piano and chamber music were Artur Balsam, Felix Galimir and Nadia Reisenberg; in musicology and comparative literature, Marie-Claire Beltrando-Patier, Pierre Brunel and Isabelle Cazeaux. A contributor to The Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicans, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, and to numerous academic and performing arts journals, Dr BempAcchat has enjoyed research and lecturing appointments at Harvard University, where he remains an Affiliate at its Center for European Studies, and at the Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University. Based in Boston and Paris, Paul-AndrAc BempAcchat sustains the career that has brought him to the Wiener Festwochen, the Caramoor Festival, Bostona€?s Jordan Hall, and Berlina€?s Konzerthaus.