Wondering who the greatest and most famous French composers are? France has been known to have most the of world’s greatest music composers, pianists, organists and conductors in history. Here are 10 out of the so many French composers. Inasmuch as much as some of those that appear on the list have lived many years ago, their works are still considered to be among the best.
Greatest and Famous French Composers
1. Louise-Hector Berlioz
Berlioz was born on the 11th of December 1830. One of the greatest in the era of Romanticism let his career in medicine in order to pursue his passion for music. The composer had always loved music since he was a child he went on to learn to play the guitar and flute before becoming a self-taught composer.
His works include; symphonie fantastique which changed orchestral expression and Harold in Italy; choral pieces- Require and L’enfance du Christ; operas- Beneventu Cellini, Les Troyens and Beatrice et Benedict. He also composed hybrid genres like the Romeo et Juliette (dramatic symphony) and La damnation de faust (dramatic legend). In 1830, he won France’s premier music prize- Prix de Rome. He was held in high esteem both as a composer and a conductor across Britain, Germany, and Russia. His works have been preserved in book forms. He died on 8th March 1869 at the age of 65.
2. George Bizet
Bizet was born on October 25, 1838. A French composer of the Romantic era, his father became a music teacher after he first worked as a hairdresser. Even though he had no formal training in music, he also composed some works. His mother was a pianist while his uncle François Delsarte was a singer, hence he grew up in music. Even before he was 10, he had already started his music.
His work- Carmen became one of the most popular and frequently performed in the whole of the Opera repertoire. In 1857, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome and so many other prizes. However, he was regarded as an outstanding pianist, but he rarely performs in public. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by death on the 3rd of June 1875 at the age of just 36. Among his popular works are Clovis et Clotilde (1957) and Carmen (1875).
3. Achille- Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy was born on 22nd August 1862. Beyond France, he is one of the most respected composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although he was born into a poor family, his musical talent was too much to ignore and so he was sent to the Paris Conservatory when he was only 11.
He was a composer who was regarded as the first impressionist composer, although a term he outrightly rejected. He achieved international fame at nearly 40 with the Opera he completed, Pelleas et Melisande in 1902. His orchestral include; l’apres midi d’un faune (1894), nocturnes (1897) and images (1905). His other works also include; Lamer (1903), La Damoiselle elue and Le Martyre de Sebastien among others. He died as a result of cancer on 25th March 1918 at the age of 55.
4. Gabriel Urbain Faure
When it comes to the musicians who have been said to have influenced many 20th century composers, Gabriel Fauré takes the day. A composer, pianist, organist, and teacher, Faure was born on 12th May 1845. Like many of the greats, his musical talent was clear when he was still a boy and because of that, he was accepted by Louis Niedermeyer, the Swiss composer, and teacher. He studied piano under yet another great French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.
Gabriel Urbain Faure made his first composition Trois romances sans paroles in 1863. Faure grew up in a well-cultured background, something that showed in how refined his work was. His popular works include; Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, Nocturne, Apres Un Reve, and Clair de lune. He died on 4th November 1924.
5. Vincent d’Indy
Vincent d’Indy was born on 27 March 1851 into an aristocratic family. He started learning to play the piano since he was a child with the help of his paternal grandmother who after teaching him for some time, passed him on to French pianist, teacher and musicographer, Antoine François Marmontel and Louis Diémer.
He enlisted in the National Guard during the Franco-Prussian War before he left to return to music. Among his highly popular works are Symphony on a French Mountain Air (Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français) for piano and orchestra (1886), and Istar (1896). Apart from being a composer, he was also a teacher before he died on 2nd December 1931.
6. Joseph Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel was born on the 7th of March 1875. He was a composer, pianist, and conductor. He is also considered as an impressionist along with his earlier contemporary Claude Debussy- a term both of them rejected. He was born to a music-loving family which got him to start it very early in life.
Although he later attended the Paris Conservatoire, he later left after it there was a biased treatment against him by the conservative establishment. He a composer after that and soon came up with a string style that had the clarity to it.
He was regarded internationally as one of France’s greatest composers. In 1928, he produced his best-known work “Bolero”. He died on 28th December 1937.
7. Camille Saint- Saens
Camille Saint-Saens was born on 9th October 1835. He was a composer, conductor, pianist and organist of the French Romantic era. His popular works include; introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), second piano concerto (1868), first cello concerto (1872) and Danse Macabre (1874) among others. He died on 16th December 1921.
8 Hugues Dufourt
Huggies Dufourt was born in Lyon on 28th September 1943. He is a composer and a philosopher associated with the spectral school of composition. He attended the Geneva Conservatory where he studied piano and composition. In 1973, he became Co-director of Ensemble l’ltineraire and in 1977 he founded the Instrumental and Sound Synthesis Research Collective.
9. Olivier Messiaen
In the 20th century, Olivier Messiaen was one of the most important French Composers. Messiaen who is was also an organist, and ornithologist was born in December 1908 into a literary family with one parent (mother) as a poet and the other a teacher of English.
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Although he had already learned piano lessons, Messiaen later took the lesson. Much later, his work would be remembered for being rhythmically complex, as well as for its harmony and melody thanks to the musical modes known as Modes of limited transposition that he employed.
Among his popular works are Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940), Turangalîla-Symphonie (1949), and Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus (1944).
10. Claude Bolling
When it comes to the best contemporary famous French composers, Claude Bolling is one who earns his place. He is a jazz pianist and composer who was born in 1930. A child prodigy, Bolling attended the Nice Conservator.
His musical journey has seen him writing songs for movies such as The Hands of Orlac (1960), He Died with His Eyes Open (1985), Try This One for Size (1989) and Chance or Coincidence (1998). Some of his very popular works include Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio (1975) which remained a top seller for many years.
