Ernest Chausson

Chausson, Ernest 

Born Jan. 20, 1855, in Paris; died June 10,1899, in Limay. French composer.

In 1883, Chausson graduated from the Paris Conservatory, where he had studied with J. Massenet and C. Franck. In 1889 he became a secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique. Chausson was influenced by the French lyric opera and by R. Wagner. In its expressiveness, grace, and refined harmony, his work shows an affinity with the impressionist composers. Chausson’s most famous composition is his Poème (1896), a work for violin and orchestra; other works include several operas, of which only Le Roi Arthus was staged (1903; Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels). Chausson composed a symphony (1890), music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1888), choral works, works for the piano, and works for voice and orchestra, notably Poéme de l’amour et de la mer (1882–92).

REFERENCES

Frantsuzskaia muzyka vtoroi poloviny XlX veka: Sb. perevod. rabot. Edited by M. Druskin. Moscow, 1938.
Gallois, J. Ernest Chausson. Paris, 1967.