Paul Abraham Dukas (French: [dykas];
1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) 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. His
best known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (L'apprenti
sorcier), the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works.
Among these are the opera Ariane et
Barbe-bleue, a symphony, two substantial works for solo piano, and a
ballet, La Péri.
At a time when French musicians were divided into conservative and
progressive factions, Dukas adhered to neither but retained the admiration of
both. His compositions were influenced by composers including Beethoven, Berlioz,
Franck, d’Indy and Debussy.
In tandem with his composing career, Dukas worked as a music critic, contributing
regular reviews to at least five French journals. Later in his life he was
appointed professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École
Normale de Musique; his pupils included Maurice Duruflé, Olivier Messiaen,
Manuel Ponce and Joaquín Rodrigo.
(..) The symphony was followed by another orchestral work, by far the best
known of Dukas's compositions, his scherzo for orchestra, L'apprenti sorcier
(The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) (1897), a
short piece (lasting for between 10 and 12 minutes in performance) based on Goethe's
poem "Der Zauberlehrling ".During Dukas's lifetime The Musical Quarterly commented that the
world fame of the work not only overshadowed all other compositions by Dukas,
but also eclipsed Goethe's original poem. The
popularity of the piece became a matter of irritation to Dukas. In 2011, the Frove
Dictionary ofMusic and Musicians observed,
"The popularity of L'apprenti sorcier and the exhilarating film
version of it in Disney's Fantasia possibly
hindered a fuller understanding of Dukas, as that single work is far better
known than its composer." (Continua) (Wikipedia)
