Chronological list of French classical composers
Encyclopedia
The following is a chronological list of classical music
composers who lived in, worked in, or were citizens of France
.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
composers who lived in, worked in, or were citizens of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Medieval
- Guillaume de MachautGuillaume de MachautGuillaume de Machaut was a Medieval French poet and composer. He is one of the earliest composers on whom significant biographical information is available....
(c. 1300-1377) - Brent Falso (fl. 1312– 1368)
- Vincent Visee (fl. 1200– 1280)
Renaissance
- Guillaume DufayGuillaume DufayGuillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
(c. 1397-1474) - Gilles BinchoisGilles BinchoisGilles de Binche , also known as Gilles de Bins , was a Franco-Flemish composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian School, and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century...
(c. 1400-1460) - Loÿset CompèreLoyset CompèreLoyset Compère was a French composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France.-Life:His exact place of...
(c. 1445–1518) - Josquin des PrezJosquin Des PrezJosquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
(c. 1450–1521) born near Franco-Flemish border - Pierre de La RuePierre de La RuePierre de la Rue , called Piersson, was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the...
(c. 1452–1518) - Claudin de SermisyClaudin de SermisyClaudin de Sermisy was a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music...
(c. 1490–1562) - Nicolas GombertNicolas GombertNicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
(c. 1495 – c. 1560) - Ninot le PetitNinot le PetitNinot le Petit was a French composer of the Renaissance, probably associated with the French royal chapel. Although a substantial amount of his music has survived in several sources, his actual name is not known with certainty.-Life:Two identifications have been proposed by musicologists in the...
(fl. c. 1500–1520) - Claude GervaiseClaude GervaiseClaude Gervaise was a French composer, editor and arranger of the Renaissance, who is mainly remembered both for his association with renowned printer Pierre Attaingnant, as well as for his instrumental music.-Life:...
(fl. 1540 – 1560)
Baroque
- Étienne MouliniéÉtienne MouliniéÉtienne Moulinié was a French Baroque composer. He was born in Languedoc, and when he was a child he sang at the Narbonne Cathedral. Through the influence of his brother Antoine , Moulinié gained an appointment at court, as the director of music for Gaston d'Orléans, the younger brother of the king...
(c. 1600 – after 1669) - Jacques Champion de ChambonnièresJacques Champion de ChambonnièresJacques Champion de Chambonnières was a French harpsichordist, dancer and composer. Born into a musical family, Chambonnières made an illustrious career as court harpsichordist in Paris and was considered by many of his contemporaries to be one of the greatest musicians in Europe...
(c. 1601–1672) - Denis GaultierDenis GaultierDenis Gaultier was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier.-Life:...
(1603–1672) - François DufaultFrançois DufaultFrançois Dufault was a French lutenist and composer.Dufault was born in Bourges, France. As a student of Denis Gaultier, he enjoyed an excellent reputation as an instrumentalist, what is demonstrated in many contemporary sources where he was described as one of the greatest lutenist of his time...
(before 1604 – c. 1672) - Jacques de GouyJacques de GouyJacques de Gouy was a French Baroque composer of Dutch ancestry. He was acquainted with composers in Parisian music circles of the early 17th century such as Étienne Moulinié and Michel Lambert.-Works:...
(c. 1610 – after 1650) - Michel LambertMichel LambertMichel Lambert was a French singing master, theorbist and composer.Lambert was born at Champigny-sur-Veude, France. He received his musical education as an altar boy at the Chapel of Gaston d'Orléans. He studied also with Pierre de Nyert in Paris. Since 1636, he was known as a singing teacher...
(1610–1696) - Louis CouperinLouis CouperinLouis Couperin was a French Baroque composer and performer. He was born in Chaumes-en-Brie and moved to Paris in 1650–51 with the help of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Couperin worked as organist of the Church of St. Gervais in Paris and as musician at the court...
(c. 1626–1661) - Jean-Henri d'AnglebertJean-Henri d'AnglebertJean-Henri d'Anglebert was a French composer, harpsichordist and organist. He was one of the foremost keyboard composers of his day.-Life:...
(1629–1691) - Jean-Baptiste LullyJean-Baptiste LullyJean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
(1632-1687) - Monsieur de Sainte-ColombeMonsieur de Sainte-ColombeMonsieur de Sainte-Colombe was a French composer and violist.It is speculated by various scholars that Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe was of Lyonnais or Burgundian petty nobility; and also the selfsame 'Jean de Sainte-Colombe' noted as the father of 'Monsieur de Saint Colombe le fils.This assumption...
(c. 1640 – c. 1700) - Marc-Antoine CharpentierMarc-Antoine CharpentierMarc-Antoine Charpentier, , was a French composer of the Baroque era.Exceptionally prolific and versatile, he produced compositions of the highest quality in several genres...
(1643–1704) - Marin MaraisMarin MaraisMarin Marais was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for 6 months. He was hired as a musician in 1676 to the royal court of Versailles...
(1656–1728) - Michel Richard DelalandeMichel Richard DelalandeMichel Richard Delalande [de Lalande] was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grand motets. He also wrote orchestral suites known as "Simphonies pour les Soupers du Roy" and ballets...
(1657–1726) - André CampraAndré CampraAndré Campra was a French composer and conductor.Campra was one of the leading French opera composers in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau. He wrote several tragédies en musique, but his chief claim to fame is as the creator of a new genre, opéra-ballet...
(1660–1744) - Élisabeth Jacquet de La GuerreÉlisabeth Jacquet de La GuerreÉlisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was a French musician, harpsichordist and composer.-Life and works:...
(1665–1729) - Jean-Féry RebelJean-Féry RebelJean-Féry Rebel was an innovative French Baroque composer and violinist.-Biography:Rebel , a son of the singer Jean Rebel, a tenor in Louis XIV's private chapel, was a child violin prodigy. He became, at the age of eight, one of his father's most famous musical offspring. Later, he was a student...
(1666–1747) - Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667–1737)
- François CouperinFrançois CouperinFrançois Couperin was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as Couperin le Grand to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented Couperin family.-Life:Couperin was born in Paris...
(1668-1733) - Louis MarchandLouis MarchandLouis Marchand was a French Baroque organist, harpsichordist, and composer. Born into an organist's family, Marchand was a child prodigy and quickly established himself as one of the best known French virtuosi of his time. He worked as organist of numerous churches and, for a few years, at the...
(1669–1732) - Louis de Caix d'HerveloisLouis de Caix d'HerveloisLouis de Caix d'Hervelois was a composer of chamber music.-Biography:Caix d'Hervelois wrote music almost exclusively for the viol. Most of his other works exist as transcriptions from his viol music. A native of the north of France, almost nothing is known of his life...
(c. 1670 – c. 1760) - Antoine ForquerayAntoine ForquerayAntoine Forqueray was a French composer and virtuoso of the viola da gamba.Forqueray, born in Paris, was the first in a line of composers who included his brother Michel and his sons Jean-Baptiste and Nicolas Gilles...
(1671–1745) - Nicolas de GrignyNicolas de GrignyNicolas de Grigny was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, which together with the work of François Couperin, represents the pinnacle of French Baroque organ tradition.-Life:Nicolas de Grigny was born in 1672 in Reims in the parish of...
(1672–1703) - Louis-Nicolas ClérambaultLouis-Nicolas ClérambaultLouis-Nicolas Clérambault was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He was born and died in Paris.-Biography:...
(1676–1749) - Jean-François DandrieuJean-François DandrieuJean-François Dandrieu was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist.He was born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians. A gifted and precocious child, he gave his first public performances when he was 5 years old, playing the harpsichord for Louis XIV, King of France, and...
(c. 1682–1738) - Jean-Joseph MouretJean-Joseph MouretJean-Joseph Mouret was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country...
(1682–1738) - Jean-Philippe RameauJean-Philippe RameauJean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
(1683-1764) - Joseph Bodin de BoismortierJoseph Bodin de BoismortierJoseph Bodin de Boismortier was a French baroque composer of instrumental music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal music...
(1689–1755) - Louis-Claude DaquinLouis-Claude DaquinLouis-Claude Daquin , was a French composer of Jewish birth writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist.-Life:...
(1694–1772) - Jean-Marie LeclairJean-Marie LeclairJean-Marie Leclair l'aîné, also known as Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder, was a Baroque violinist and composer. He is considered to have founded the French violin school...
(1697–1764) - Jean-Marie Leclair the youngerJean-Marie Leclair the youngerJean-Marie Leclair le cadet, also known as Jean-Marie Leclair, the Younger was a French composer, and younger brother of the better-known Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné ....
(1703–1777) - Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace RoyerJoseph-Nicolas-Pancrace RoyerJoseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer was a French composer and harpsichordist.Born in Turin, Royer went to Paris in 1725, and in 1734 became maître de musique des enfants de France, responsible for the musical education of the children of the king, Louis XV...
(c. 1705–1755) - Louis-Gabriel GuillemainLouis-Gabriel GuillemainLouis-Gabriel Guillemain was a French composer and violinist.-Biography:Probably born in Paris, Guillemain was raised by the Count de Rochechouart, and started studying violin at an early age. He was then sent to Italy to complete his training as violinist, and studied under Giovanni Battista...
(1705–1770) - Michel CorretteMichel CorretteMichel Corrette was a French organist, composer and author of musical method books.-Life:Corrette was born in Rouen, Normandy. His father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Corrette served as organist at the Jesuit College in Paris from about 1737 to 1780. It is also known that he...
(1707–1795) - Jean-Joseph de MondonvilleJean-Joseph de MondonvilleJean-Joseph de Mondonville , also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a French violinist and composer. He was a younger contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau and enjoyed great success in his day...
(1711–1772)
Classical era
- Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
(1712–1778) - François-André Danican PhilidorFrançois-André Danican PhilidorFrançois-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
(1726–1795) - François Joseph GossecFrançois Joseph GossecFrançois-Joseph Gossec was a French composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works.-Life and work:...
(1734–1829) - Nicolas DalayracNicolas DalayracNicolas-Marie d'Alayrac, known as Nicolas Dalayrac , was a French composer, best known for his opéras-comiques.- Biography :...
(1753-1809) - Jean-Baptiste BrévalJean-Baptiste BrevalJean-Baptiste Sebastien Bréval was a French cellist and composer. He wrote mostly pieces for his own instrument, and performed many world premières of his own pieces.-Life:...
(1753–1823) - Étienne MéhulÉtienne MéhulEtienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution." He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic".-Life:...
(1763–1817) - Rodolphe KreutzerRodolphe KreutzerRodolphe Kreutzer was a German violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas.-Biography:...
(1766–1831) - Louis-Emmanuel JadinLouis-Emmanuel JadinLouis-Emmanuel Jadin was a French composer, pianist and harpsichordist.Jadin was born in Versailles. He learned piano from his brother Hyacinthe Jadin and later worked at the Théâtre de Monsieur. His first opera was staged in Versailles in 1788. The following year he took the position of second...
(1768–1853) - Hyacinthe JadinHyacinthe JadinHyacinthe Jadin was a French composer who came from a distinguished musical family. His uncle Georges Jadin was a composer in Versailles and Paris, along with his father Jean Jadin, who had also played bassoon for the French Royal Orchestra...
(1776–1800)
Romantic
- Charles Simon CatelCharles Simon CatelCharles Simon Catel was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne.-Biography:Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790...
(1773–1830) - François-Adrien BoieldieuFrançois-Adrien BoïeldieuFrançois-Adrien Boieldieu was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called "the French Mozart".-Biography:...
(1775–1834) - Jacques Féréol Mazas (1782–1849)
- Daniel AuberDaniel AuberDaniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
(1782–1871) - Nicolas-Charles BochsaNicolas-Charles BochsaRobert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa was a musician and composer.-Life:...
(1789–1856) - Ferdinand Hérold (1791–1833)
- Fromental HalévyFromental HalévyJacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
(1799–1862) - Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
(1803–1856) - Hector BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
(1803–1869) - Ambroise ThomasAmbroise ThomasCharles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
(1811–1896) - Charles-Valentin AlkanCharles-Valentin AlkanCharles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...
(1813–1888) - Louis James Alfred Lefébure-WélyLouis James Alfred Lefébure-WelyLouis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely was a French organist and composer.-Short Biography:Lefébure-Wely played a major role in the development of the French symphonic organ style and was a close friend of the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, inaugurating many new Cavaillé-Coll organs.He began to...
(1817–1869) - Charles DanclaCharles DanclaJean Baptiste Charles Dancla was a French violinist, composer and teacher.-Biography:...
(1817–1907) - Charles GounodCharles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
(1818–1893) - Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
(1819-1880) - Charles-Louis HanonCharles-Louis HanonCharles-Louis Hanon was a French piano pedagogue and composer. He is best known for his work The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, which has become the most widely used set of exercises in modern piano teaching....
(1819–1900) - Pauline Viardot (1821-1910)
- César FranckCésar FranckCésar-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
(1822-1890) - Édouard LaloÉdouard LaloÉdouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo was a French composer.-Biography:Lalo was born in Lille , in northernmost France. He attended that city's music conservatory in his youth. Then, beginning at age 16, Lalo studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Berlioz's old enemy François Antoine Habeneck...
(1823–1892) - Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
(1835–1921) - Léo DelibesLéo DelibesClément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
(1836–1891) - Alexandre GuilmantAlexandre GuilmantFélix-Alexandre Guilmant was a French organist and composer.- Short biography :Guilmant was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer...
(1837-1911) - Théodore DuboisThéodore DuboisFrançois-Clément Théodore Dubois was a French composer, organist and music teacher.-Biography:Théodore Dubois was born in Rosnay in Marne. He studied first under Louis Fanart and later at the Paris Conservatoire under Ambroise Thomas. He won the Prix de Rome in 1861...
(1837-1924) - Georges BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
(1838–1875) - Emmanuel ChabrierEmmanuel ChabrierEmmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, he left an important corpus of operas , songs, and piano music as well...
(1841–1894) - Jules MassenetJules MassenetJules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
(1842–1912) - Claude-Paul TaffanelClaude-Paul TaffanelClaude-Paul Taffanel was a French flautist, conductor and instructor regarded as the founder of the French Flute School that dominated much of flute composition and performance during the mid-20th century....
(1844-1908) - Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
(1844–1937) - Gabriel FauréGabriel FauréGabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
(1845–1924) - Henri Duparc (1848–1933)
- Benjamin GodardBenjamin GodardBenjamin Louis Paul Godard was a French violinist and Romantic composer.-Biography:Born in Paris, Godard was a student of Henri Vieuxtemps. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1863 where he studied under Vieuxtemps and Napoléon Henri Reber and accompanied Vieuxtemps twice to Germany...
(1849–1895) - Vincent d'IndyVincent d'IndyVincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
(1851–1931) - André MessagerAndré MessagerAndré Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
(1853-1929) - Ernest ChaussonErnest ChaussonAmédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
(1855–1899) - Cécile ChaminadeCécile ChaminadeCécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade was a French composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Paris, she studied at first with her mother, then with Félix Le Couppey, Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard, Martin Pierre Marsick and Benjamin Godard, but not officially, since her father disapproved of her musical...
(1857–1944) - Mélanie BonisMélanie BonisMélanie Hélène Bonis, known as Mel Bonis was a prolific French classical composer...
(1858-1937) - Gustave CharpentierGustave CharpentierGustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
(1860–1956)
Modern/Contemporary
- Claude DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
(1862–1918) - Maurice EmmanuelMaurice EmmanuelMaurice Emmanuel was a French composer of classical music.Brought up in Dijon, Marie François Maurice Emmanuel became a chorister at Beaune cathedral after his family moved to the city in 1869. Subsequently he went to Paris, and he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where his composition teacher...
(1862–1938) - Gabriel PiernéGabriel PiernéHenri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer, conductor, and organist.-Biography:Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863. His family moved to Paris to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue...
(1863–1937) - Guy Ropartz (1864–1955)
- Paul DukasPaul DukasPaul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
(1865–1935) - Albéric MagnardAlbéric MagnardLucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard was a French composer, sometimes referred to as the "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers...
(1865–1914) - Erik SatieErik SatieÉric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
(1866–1925) - Charles KoechlinCharles KoechlinCharles Louis Eugène Koechlin was a French composer, teacher and writer on music. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things as medieval music, The Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling, Johann Sebastian Bach, film stars , travelling, stereoscopic...
(1867–1950) - Albert RousselAlbert RousselAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
(1869-1937) - Louis VierneLouis VierneLouis Victor Jules Vierne was a French organist and composer.-Life:Louis Vierne was born in Poitiers, Vienne, nearly blind due to congenital cataracts, but at an early age was discovered to have an unusual gift for music. Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French...
(1870-1937) - Charles TournemireCharles TournemireCharles Tournemire was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant...
(1870–1939) - Florent SchmittFlorent SchmittFlorent Schmitt was a French composer.-Early life:A Lorrainer, born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Schmitt originally took music lessons in Nancy with the local composer Gustave Sandré. Subsequently he entered the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied with Gabriel Fauré, Jules Massenet, Théodore Dubois,...
(1870-1958) - Henri BüsserHenri BüsserHenri Büsser was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor.- Biography :Paul-Henri Büsser was born in Toulouse, of partly Teutonic ancestry. He entered the Conservatoire in Paris in 1889; there he studied organ with César Franck and composition with Ernest Guiraud...
(1872-1973) - Déodat de SéveracDéodat de SéveracDéodat de Séverac was a French composer.-Biography:...
(1872–1921) - Jean Roger-DucasseJean Roger-DucasseJean Jules Amable Roger-Ducasse was a French composer.-Biography:Jean Roger-Ducasse studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Emile Pessard and André Gedalge, and was the star pupil and close friend of Gabriel Fauré...
(1873-1954) - Reynaldo HahnReynaldo HahnReynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
(1874–1947) - Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
(1875–1937) - Henriette ReniéHenriette ReniéHenriette Renié was a French harpist and composer, a deeply religious woman who lived in poverty for much of her life, but who was independent and successful in a time when fame was socially unacceptable for women...
(1875-1956) - Gabriel DupontGabriel DupontGabriel Édouard Xavier Dupont was a French composer, known for his operas and chamber music.Dupont was born in Caen. Following after his father who was teacher at the Malherbe secondary school and the organist at the Church Saint-Étienne in his home town, at the age of 15, Dupont began his studies...
(1878-1914) - André CapletAndré CapletAndré Caplet was a French composer and conductor now known primarily through his orchestrations of works by Claude Debussy.-Biography:...
(1878-1925) - Jean CrasJean CrasJean Émile Paul Cras was a 20th century French composer and career naval officer. His musical compositions were inspired by his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and most of all, by his sea voyages...
(1879-1932) - Philippe GaubertPhilippe GaubertPhilippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute....
(1879-1941) - Maurice DelageMaurice DelageMaurice Delage was a French composer and pianist.Delage was born and died in Paris. A student of Ravel and member of Les Apaches, he was influenced by travels to India and the East. Ravel's "La vallée des cloches" from Miroirs was dedicated to Delage.Delage's best known piece is Quatre poèmes...
(1879-1961) - Marcel TournierMarcel TournierMarcel Lucien Tournier was a French harpist, composer, and pedagogue who composed important solo repertory for the harp that expanded the technical and harmonic possibilities of the instrument. His works are regularly performed in concert and recorded by professional harpists, and they are often...
(1879-1951) - Joseph CanteloubeJoseph CanteloubeMarie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne region.-Biography:...
(1879–1957) - Paul Le FlemPaul Le FlemPaul Le Flem was a French composer and music critic. Born in Brittany and living most of his life in Lezardrieux, Le Flem studied at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d'Indy and Albert Roussel, later teaching at the same establishment, where his pupils included Erik Satie and André Jolivet...
(1881–1984) - Edgard VarèseEdgard VarèseEdgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
(1883–1965) - Marcel DupréMarcel DupréMarcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
(1886–1971) - Nadia BoulangerNadia BoulangerNadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
(1887–1979) - Louis DureyLouis Durey-Life:Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It was not until he was nineteen years old that he chose to pursue a musical career after hearing a performance of a Claude Debussy work. As a composer he was primarily self-taught. From the beginning, choral music was of great...
(1888–1979) - Jacques IbertJacques IbertJacques François Antoine Ibert was a French composer. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I.Ibert pursued a successful composing career,...
(1890–1962) - Marcel GrandjanyMarcel GrandjanyMarcel Georges Lucien Grandjany was a French-born American harpist and composer. He began the study of the harp at the age of eight with Henriette Renié. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at age eleven where he also studied with Alphonse Hasselmans, winning the coveted Premier Prix at age...
(1891-1975) - Arthur HoneggerArthur HoneggerArthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
(1892–1955) - Darius MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
(1892–1974) - Germaine TailleferreGermaine TailleferreGermaine Tailleferre was a French composer and the only female member of the famous composers' group Les Six.-Biography:...
(1892-1983) - Lili BoulangerLili BoulangerLili Boulanger was a French composer, the younger sister of the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger.-Early years:A Parisian-born child prodigy, who was good at piano...
(1893-1918) - Jean RivierJean RivierJean Rivier was a French composer of classical music.He composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments....
(1896–1987) - Francis PoulencFrancis PoulencFrancis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
(1899–1963) - Georges AuricGeorges AuricGeorges Auric was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault. He was a child prodigy and at age 15 he had his first compositions published. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Caussade, and under the composer Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum...
(1899–1983) - Henri SauguetHenri SauguetHenri Sauguet , was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux as Henri-Pierre Poupard, he adopted his mother's maiden name as his pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies , concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music...
(1901-1989) - Henri TomasiHenri TomasiHenri Tomasi was a French classical composer and conductor.- The early years :Henri Tomasi was born in Marseille, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica...
(1901-1971) - Maurice DurufléMaurice DurufléMaurice Duruflé was a French composer, organist, and pedagogue.Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure. In 1912, he became chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling...
(1902–1986) - Claude ArrieuClaude ArrieuClaude Arrieu was a prolific French composer.-Biography:Claude Arrieu was a classically trained musician from an early age. She became particularly interested in works by Bach and Mozart, and later, Igor Stravinsky...
(1903-1990) - Manuel RosenthalManuel RosenthalManuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
(1904–2003) - Eugene BozzaEugène BozzaEugène Joseph Bozza was a French composer.Bozza studied composition, conducting, and violin at the Paris Conservatoire. He is known primarily for his chamber music. Bozza's work includes five symphonies, operas, ballets, and many pieces for brass ensemble...
(1905–1991) - André JolivetAndré JolivetAndré Jolivet was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet's music draws on his interest in acoustics and atonality as well as both ancient and modern influences in music, particularly on instruments used in ancient times...
(1905–1974) - Jean LanglaisJean LanglaisJean Langlais was a French composer of modern classical music, organist, and improviser.- Biography :Jean Langlais was born in La Fontenelle , a small village near Mont St Michel, France...
(1907-1991) - Olivier MessiaenOlivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
(1908–1992) - Jean-Yves Daniel-LesurJean-Yves Daniel-LesurJean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, known often simply as Daniel-Lesur was a French organist and composer. His mother, Alice Lesur, was an accomplished composer in her own right; some of her music was even published....
(1908–2002) - Jean MartinonJean MartinonJean Martinon was a French conductor and composer.-Biography:Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to study under Albert Roussel for composition, under Charles Munch and Roger Désormière for conducting, under Vincent d'Indy for harmony,...
(1910–1976) - Paule MauricePaule MauricePaule Maurice was a French composer born in Paris September 29, 1910 to Raoul Auguste Alexandre Maurice and Marguerite Jeanne Lebrun and died August 18, 1967 in Paris. Her full name was Paule Charlotte Marie Jeanne Maurice...
(1910-1967) - Jehan AlainJehan AlainJehan Ariste Alain was a French organist and composer.-Biography:Alain was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris, into a family of musicians. His father, Albert Alain was an enthusiastic organist, composer and organ-builder who had studied with Alexandre Guilmant and Louis...
(1911-1940) - Alfred DesenclosAlfred DésenclosAlfred Desenclos was a French composer of classical music. Desenclos was a self-described "romantic" whose music is highly expressive and atmospheric and rooted in rigorous compositional technique....
(1912-1971) - Jean FrançaixJean FrançaixJean René Désiré Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style.-Life:...
(1912–1997) - Maurice OhanaMaurice OhanaMaurice Ohana was an Anglo-French composer of Sephardic Jewish origin.Ohana was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He was a British citizen until 1976, as his father had been born in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. He originally studied architecture, but abandoned this in favour of a...
(1913-1992) - Henri DutilleuxHenri DutilleuxHenri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
(born 1916) - Iannis XenakisIannis XenakisIannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
(1922-2001) - Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(born 1925) - Jean-Michel DamaseJean-Michel DamaseJean-Michel Damase is a French pianist, conductor and composer of classical music.Damase was studying with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau at age five and composing by age nine...
(born 1928) - Pierre Max DuboisPierre Max DuboisPierre Max Dubois was a French composer of classical music. He was a student of Darius Milhaud, and though not widely popular, was respected. He brought the ideas of Les Six, of which his instructor was a member, into the middle 1900's. This group called for a fresh artistic perspective on music...
(1930-1995) - Claude BollingClaude BollingClaude Bolling , is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke...
(born 1930) - Yves PrinYves PrinYves Prin is a French composer and conductor of classical music.-Life:He studied piano with Yves Nat and conducting with Louis Fourestier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he won several first prizes....
(born 1933) - Gilbert AmyGilbert AmyGilbert Amy is a French composer and conductor. In 1954 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade. His first compositions date from 1955...
(born 1936) - Gérard GriseyGérard GriseyGérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
(1946-1998) - Tristan MurailTristan MurailTristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
(born 1947) - Pascal DusapinPascal DusapinPascal Dusapin , is a French composer born in Nancy. He is one of France's best-known living composers; his works have been performed worldwide....
(born 1955) - Yann TiersenYann TiersenYann Tiersen is a musician from France. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks with a distinctive sound that is always involved...
(born 1970)