Jean René Désiré Françaix (23 May 1912 in Le Mans – 25 September 1997 in Paris) was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style.
Jean-Paul Sartre | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Jean Cocteau | Jean Genet | Jean-Luc Godard | Wyclef Jean | Jean Racine | Jean Chrétien | Jean Michel Jarre | Jean Paul Gaultier | Jean Nouvel | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Jean Giraud | Jean Sibelius | Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot | Jean-Claude Van Damme | Jean Renoir | Jean-Pierre Rampal | Jean-Léon Gérôme | Jean Harlow | Jean Anouilh | Billie Jean King | Jean Giraudoux | Jean-Bertrand Aristide | Jean Baudrillard | Jean-Pierre Thiollet | Jean-Martin Charcot | Jean Gabin | Jean de Florette |
In the twentieth century, the concerto grosso has been used by composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Ernest Bloch, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Bohuslav Martinů, Malcolm Williamson, Henry Cowell, Alfred Schnittke, William Bolcom, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Andrei Eshpai, Eino Tamberg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jean Françaix and Philip Glass.
He is an eminent musician who has had an influence on various artists and has played at the premiere of a number of works that have become a part of the Clarinet repertoire, such as works by Helmut Lachenmann, Isang Yun, Edison Denisov, Jean Françaix, Gia Kancheli, Krzysztof Meyer, amongst others.