François-René Tranchefort

French musicologist François-René Tranchefort was born circa 1933. He was the author of a famous series of classical music guides published by éditions Fayard, including Guide de la Musique Symphonique, a listening guide for unsuspecting audience members. music lovers and professionals which contains about 1,500 commentaries on works by some two hundred composers.

Guide de la Musique Symphonique

The book, on which Tranchefort collaborated with André Lischke, Michel Parouty and Marc Vignal, won the 1986 Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros.

Tranchefort went on to produce Guide de la musique de piano et de clavecin (1987), Guide de la musique de chambre (1989) and Guide de la musique sacrée et chorale, de 1750 à nos jours (1993).

François-René Tranchefort died on 22 May 2019, aged eighty-six.