Born in 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge near Paris, Pierre Dervaux studied harmony and counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, and piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat. In 1947 Dervaux was engaged as principal conductor by the Opéra de Paris, where he continued until 1970. During this time, he directed –in 1957- the world première of Poulenc’s Dialogue des Carmélites. In 1980 he returned to Paris to conduct Carmen with Teresa Berganza and Placido Domingo. He served as Vice-President of the Concerts Pasdeloup from 1949 to 1955, and was Music Director of the Chicago Opera in the 1960s, Music Director of the Orchestre des Pays de la Loire from 1971 to 1979, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, and of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice until 1982. Dervaux appeared as a guest conductor with many French and foreign orchestras. He taught conducting courses at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris from 1964, and at the Montréal Conservatoire from 1965 to 1971. Pierre Dervaux was President of the Orchestre Colonne from 1958 to 1992. His compositions include several concertos, two symphonies, a string quartet and a string trio. He died in Marseile, on 20 October 1992.
