Fauré, Gabriel

Born May 12, 1845, in Pamiers, department of Ariège; died Nov. 4, 1924, in Paris. French composer and organist. Member of the Institut de France (1909).

Fauré studied under L. A. Niedermeyer and C. Saint-Saëns. He was a founder and active member of the Société Nationale de Musique (1871). In 1896 he was appointed a professor at the Paris Conservatory, of which he was director from 1905 to 1920; his students included M. Ravel, J. Roger-Ducasse, C. Koechlin, A. Casella, N. Boulanger, and G. Enesco. From 1903 to 1913, Fauré contributed music criticism to Le Figaro.

Fauré’s music was melodically inventive, and his use of certain harmonic devices and lyric tone painting anticipated musical impressionism. Fauré’s major works include chamber music, piano compositions, and a requiem (1888). He also wrote the operas Prométhée (1900) and Pénélope (1913), a symphony (1884), a suite (1873), the orchestral work Pavane (1887), Ballade (1881) and Fantaisie (1919) for piano and orchestra, choruses, romances, and music for the theater.