- Classical Music Dictionary

Paul Dukas

(1865 - 1935)

Paul Dukas studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was a pupil of Bizet's friend Guiraud.

When he left the Conservatoire he devoted his time to musical criticism and orchestration.

In the 1920s his search for perfection led him to destroy much of his work and allow only a relatively small number of compositions to be published.

Nevertheless he remained an influential and respected teacher.

He was a friend of Debussy’s and developed some of that composer’s techniques in his works.

His most famous composition is the orchestral scherzo "L'apprenti sorcier" (The Sorcerer's Apprentice), inspired by Goethe's poem Der Zauberlehrling.

A year before, in 1896, Dukas had completed his only symphony, a work that deserves more attention than it has generally received.

His acclaimed opera "Ariane et Barbe-bleu" (Ariadne and Bluebeard) was based on a play of the same name by Maeterlinck.

His last major work was a ballet, "La Péri".