Biography
Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) was a French pianist and composer. Born in Paris in 1896, he trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud and worked with Erik Satie. He later became known as a concert pianist and impresario, serving as house pianist at the Gaya bar and Le Boeuf sur le Toit.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Wiener performed in a popular piano duo with Clément Doucet under the name Wiener et Doucet, recording classical, dance and jazz pieces until 1937. After the Second World War he focused on composition, writing scores for more than 300 films and the opening theme for the ORTF television series Histoires sans paroles. His film credits include Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), Mouchette (1967) and A Gentle Woman (1969). His daughter Elizabeth Wiener became an actress and singer. Wiener published his memoirs, Allegro Appassionato, in 1978 and died in Paris in 1982.
