(b Łódź, 12 June 1897; d Paris, 15 Nov 1986). French composer and pianist of Polish birth. Following studies at the Łódź Conservatory (1908–14) with Wojciech Gawronski and others, he moved to Warsaw where he completed the doctorate in law at the University of Warsaw (1918). He continued his piano studies with Piotr Rytel and took composition lessons with Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński. Although he won three prizes in the Polish National Music Competition of 1919 (for Impression, Preludium in B Major and Romance), critics considered his distinctive chromaticism and polytonality too bold. Disappointed with his reception in Poland, he moved to Paris, giving a début recital in February 1920. Soon after his arrival, he became friendly with Stravinsky and Ravel, both of whom encouraged and advised him. Stravinsky's repetitive, rhythmic patterns and Ravel's chords of the 11th and 13th influenced much of his inter-war music. Acquainted with many leading musical figures in Paris during these years, Tansman was part of the circle of foreign musicians, known as the Ecole de Paris, that included Martinů, Alexander Tcherepnin, Conrad Beck and Marcel Mihalovici. While his music retained many distinctively Polish features, such as Mazurka rhythms and Polish folk melodies, and while he wrote collections of Polonaises, Nocturnes, Impromptus, Waltzes and other Chopinesque miniatures, neo-classical traits appear in works such as the Sonata rustica (1925), the Sonatine for flute and piano (1925), the Symphony no.2 (1926) and the Second Piano Concerto (1927). A more romantic approach to neo-classicism is evident in his fairy tale ballet Le jardin du paradis (1922) and the first of his seven operas, La nuit kurde (1927). Although he never completely abandoned a diatonic framework, critics of the 1920s and 30s described his harmony at times as Scriabinesque and atonal. His Hebraic background provided compositional stimulus for works including Rapsodie hébraïque (1933) and The Genesis (1944), although this influence became more prominent in his postwar music. Tansman was quick to achieve international success. Vladimir Golschmann was an early champion of his music, conducting the orchestral Impressions in 1921; Koussevitzky conducted Scherzo sinfonico in 1923 and both piano concertos in Paris and Boston with the composer as soloist. Thereafter Tansman's music was performed under Toscanini, Mengelberg, Stokowski, Monteux, Wood and Boult. During his first American tour as a pianist with Koussevitzky and the Boston SO in 1927, Tansman became acquainted with Gershwin. Later, he toured extensively in Europe, Asia, Palestine and India, where he was a guest of Mahatma Gandhi in 1933. Although awarded French nationality in 1938, he and his family were soon forced to flee France. He settled in Los Angeles in 1941 where he became acquainted with Schoenberg, renewed friendships with other European émigrés, including Milhaud and Stravinsky, and composed a number of film scores. He returned to Paris in 1946. In addition to his many compositions, he completed a monograph on Stravinsky (Paris, 1948). His honours included the Coolidge Medal (1941), election to the Académie Royale of Belgium (1977) and the Polish Medal of Cultural Merit (1983). (Grove Music Online)