François-André Danican Philidor

Philidor after an engraving from 1772
François-André Danican Philidor (called: André Danican Philidor "the Younger", born September 7, 1726 in Dreux; † August 31, 1795 in London) was a French composer and was considered the best chess player in the world during his lifetime.

Today the memory of his musical work has faded, but he is world-famous as a pioneer of modern chess. A chess opening, the Philidor Defense, is named after him. A defense method in the rook endgame also bears his name.

Life
Musician family
The family's original name was Danican (D'Anican), they were of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor came from a family of musicians; his grandfather Jean Danican Philidor (approx. 1620–1679) was a musician at the Grande Écurie in Paris. 'Philidor' is a later, unexplained addition to his name. It is reported that Michel Danican, probably Philidor's great-uncle, became Louis XIII through his game. made him exclaim that he reminded him of an Italian oboist named Filidori. His father André Danican Philidor (called Philidor l'aîné, 1647–1730) was initially also employed in the Grande Écurie, then at court, in the chapel of Louis XIV. Both of Philidor's ancestors were composers, but no works by Jean Danican Philidor have survived. Philidor's father's playing (timpani, oboe, crooked horn, trumscheit and bassoon) met with the approval of Louis XIV, as can be concluded from expressions of favor.

Philidor's eldest brother Anne Danican Philidor (1681–1728) went down in music history as the founder of the Concert Spirituel, a periodic event of public concerts from 1725 to 1791.

Philidor comes from his father's second marriage. He is the third child from this union (Elisabeth Le Roy married in 1719 as a 19-year-old); his father was 79 years old when Philidor was born and died four years later. The significance of André Danican Philidor for posterity lay not in his compositions, but in his passion for collecting and copying for the royal music archives. Thanks to his decades-long efforts, a wealth of material has been preserved that can be used to document this musical era in compositions.

Youth in Versailles and Paris

Title page of the Analysis des Échecs (first edition 1749)
Philidor began his musical career at the age of 6: he became a page at the Versailles Chapel, where he was introduced to the basics of both music (by the bandmaster) and chess (by the musicians). At the age of 12 he was able to present his first composition, a motet. Louis XV was so delighted by the prodigy's achievement that he gave him five Louis d'or for it.

In 1740 Philidor left the chapel and took up residence in Paris, where he initially made his living as a music teacher and music copyist. But he soon came into contact with the Café de la Régence. There he became a student of François Antoine de Legall, who was a professional player at the Café de la Régence. The fact that Philidor was employed as a regular guest and player at the Café de la Regence meant that he socialized there with many enlightenment figures such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Denis Diderot. Philidor maintained a long-standing friendship with the latter. Diderot's and Philidor's families met regularly.

At first Philidor was given instructions, but within a short time the young person proved to be superior to his teacher. From then on, chess was a passionate activity for Philidor, which distracted him from his music studies, but he did not forget about composing. In addition to other motets he composed, he helped Jean-Jacques Rousseau complete his opera ballet Les muses galantes in 1745.

Netherlands, England, Prussia
A failed musical tour through Europe left Philidor stranded in the Netherlands in the mid-1740s. He tried to make a living playing professional chess in The Hague and met English officers who persuaded him to move to London. In London he met Abraham Janssen (1720–1795) and the famous Syrian Philipp Stamma, whom he clearly defeated 8-2 in a ten-game competition in 1747. He returned to the mainland, where he became acquainted with the commander-in-chief of the English troops in Holland, William August, Duke of Cumberland. In the future, he became one of Philidor's most important supporters. In 1749 and 1751 he was a guest in Potsdam at the court of Frederick II, who valued him both as a composer and as the best chess player of his time. In Berlin, Philidor, a sensation at the time, played blindfold chess on three boards at the same time.

Philidor had previously published his chess textbook in French in London in 1749, which was later reprinted many times. L’ Analyze des Échecs (the title was later varied) had the most lasting influence on the development of the game of chess. In the book he described the theoretical basics of positional play. Among other things, he particularly emphasized the importance of the pawn structure: “The pawns are the soul of the game of chess,” this is probably Philidor's best-known saying about the game of chess.

Back in Paris

Bust of Philidor on the facade of the Opéra Garnier
From 1754 Philidor lived in Paris again and primarily composed operas. From 1759 to 1765 he performed 11 operas, eight of which were great successes. His most famous opéra-comique was Tom Jones (1765), an adaptation of Henry Fielding's best-known novel Tom Jones: The Story of a Foundling. It was recently performed again in Hagen in April 2004.

His tragic opera Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège (1767) and his Requiem from 1764 on the second anniversary of Jean Philippe Rameau's death are also of great importance.

Stays in London
In 1770, a chess club was founded in the “Salopian Coffee House” in Charing Cross, whose members offered Philidor the opportunity to spend the annual season from February to June with them in London for an annual fee. Eager for new chess matches, Philidor accepted the materially interesting offer. In 1772 and 1773 he returned to the “Salopian”; He then moved on to the “London Chess Club”, which met in “Parsloe's”, a public house on St James's Street. From then on, Philidor stayed in London for several months every year. As a permanent professional player in the house, he was available to the club as a chess teacher; He gave blindfold chess performances, played for bets against visitors and also gave music lessons.

In 1771 Philidor went to London again, among other things. to visit the musician and music historian Charles Burney. On the way back he brought some of his works with him for his old friend Denis Diderot to examine. Conversely, Diderot used Philidor to support his request to find a good translator into English for his work L' Analyze des Échecs (1749) through Burney. Diderot wrote a letter of recommendation for Philidor, in which he expressed his high opinion and appreciation for his old friend Philidor.

This happened until 1792, when the Revolutionary War also affected England and France. Philidor was now stuck in England and was ultimately not allowed to return to Paris for political reasons.

He died on August 31, 1795 in London and was buried on September 3, 1795 at London's St James's Church in Piccadilly.

Philidor's well-known opponents in the last years of his life included Verdoni, who would succeed him as a professional player in "Parsloe's", and the mathematician George Atwood. He left for posterity a number of recordings of games played by Philidor and his contemporaries.

Philidor's work L'analyse du jeu des échecs occupies a prominent position in chess literature. The book is considered a foundation of chess strategy, especially because of its explanations on pawn management. It also contains the first known example of a purely positional pawn sacrifice in the middle game (Diagram 1).

Philidor recommended 1. … e5–e4 2. d3xe4 d5–d4. For the sacrificed pawn, Black receives a passed pawn on the d-file and the strong e5 square for his knight. The position is then in a dynamic equilibrium with good opportunities for Black.

Philidor also made groundbreaking analyzes in the area of endgames, which withstood all later tests and became an integral part of endgame theory.

In the opening area, the Philidor defense goes back to him. It arises after the moves 1. e2–e4 e7–e5 2. Ng1–f3 d7–d6. Philidor believed that bringing out knights early hindered pawn development. For this reason he favored the move 2. Bf1 – c4 for White instead of 2. Ng1 – f3. Following Philidor's teachings, the bishop game became a predominant opening until the king's knight game became established again in the 19th century.

Work editions
L’ analysis of the Échecs. Reprint of the first edition of 1749 (London 1752)
The art of becoming a master at chess. First German translation (Strasbourg 1754)
Analysis of the Jeu des Échecs. Expanded French edition (London 1777)
Analysis of the Game of Chess. A New Edition. First and second volumes. Expanded English edition from 1790 (last edited by Philidor)
The celebrated analysis of the game of chess. English edition (responsible for George Walker) with biographical sketch (1832)
Practical instructions for playing chess. German translation (Gotha 1833

Compositions (selection)
Operas:

Le diable à quatre (1756)
Blaise le Savetier (1759)
L'huître et les plaideurs (1759)
Le quiproquo ou Le volage fixé (1759)
Le soldier magicien (1760)
Le jardinier et son seigneur (1761)
Le maréchal-ferrant (1761)
Sancho Pança dans son île (1762)
Le bûcheron ou Les trois souhaits (1763)
Le Sorcier (1764)
Tom Jones (1765/1766)
Ernelinde, princesse of Norway (1767)
Le jardinier de Sidon (1768)
L'amant déguisé ou Le jardinier supposé (1769)
La nouvelle école des femmes (1770)
Herne the hunter (1773)
Le puits d'amour (1779)
L'amitié au village (1785)
Themistocle (1786)
La belle esclave (1788)
Bélisaire (published 1796)
Vocal music:

Motets
Aria for Rousseau's Le devin de village (1763)
Requiem for Rameau (1764)
Te Deum (1786)
Instrumental music:

L’Art de la modulation, 6 quartets for oboe (or flute or violin), 2 violins and harpsichord (1755)
Discography (selection)
Tom Jones, Sébastien Droy, Sophie Marin-Degor, Marc Barrard, Sibyl Zanganelli, Lausanne Sinfonietta, Jean-Claude Malgoire, 2006, Dynamic/Klassik-Center 509/1-2 (2 CDs) (review at rondomagazin.de)
Carmen Saeculaire, Symphony No. 27 in G major, Le marechal ferrant: Overture, Le sorcier: Overture, Tom Jones: Overture, Svizzera Italiana Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Christian Benda, 2007. Naxos Nx 855759394 (2 CDs)
literature
George Allen: The Life of Philidor. Musician and chess player. E. H. Butler & Co., Philadelphia 1863.
Charles Michael Carroll: Philidor. In: Music in the past and present. Encyclopedia of Music, Volume 10. Bärenreiter Verlag, Kassel / Basel / London / New York 1962, pp. 1190–1999.
Jean François Dupont-Danican (ed.): Pour Philidor: a commemorative publication on the 200th anniversary of the death of the musician and chess master. Fink, Koblenz 1994, ISBN 3-929291-02-9.
Susanna Poldauf: Philidor: a unique combination of chess and music. Exzelsior-Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-935800-02-9.
George Walker: A Selection of Games at Chess, Actually Played by Philidor and His Contemporaries. Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, London 1835.
Paul Metzner: Philidor and the Café de la Régence Chess Masters. In: Crescendo of the Virtuoso. Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution. University of California Press, Berkeley et al. 1998.
Herbert Bastian: François-André Danican Philidor, latest research results, Schach magazine 2019/8, pp. 40–50.
Web links

Commons: François-André Danican Philidor - collection of images, videos and audio files
Works by and about François-André Danican Philidor in the German National Library catalog
Works by and about François-André Danican Philidor in the German Digital Library
Replayable chess games by François-André Danican Philidor on chessgames.com (English)
Philidor, the joueur d'échecs raconté par son descendant. Mieux jouer aux échecs (French)
Dany Sénéchaud: Philidor, musicien, joueur d'échecs et homme de son temps. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4. (French)
Sheet music and audio files by François Danican Philidor in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
  Wolfgang Antesberger: Forget Mozart! Successful composers of Mozart's time. Munich/Zurich: Piper, 2008. ISBN 978-3-492-25109-9, p. 128.
  Markus Jakobi: Chess in the Age of Enlightenment. (Memento from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive) (PDF; 22.42 kB) Lecture given by on November 1st and 2nd, 2003 as part of the event “Wiesbadener Hafa offers chess” Philidor's biography up to the outbreak of the French Revolution.
  Philidor's famous remark (C.N. 5560)
  Wolfgang Antesberger: Forget Mozart! Successful composers of Mozart's time. Munich/Zurich: Piper, 2008. ISBN 978-3-492-25109-9, p. 128.
  H.J.R. Murray in a letter dated August 4, 1932, quoted from Edward Winter, Chess Notes 6000: 6000. Murray letter on Philidor
  G. Walker: A Selection of Games at Chess, Actually Played by Philidor and His Contemporaries. p. 12ff.

Source: Germain Wikipedia