Gustave Charpentier

Charpentier, Gustave 

Born June 25, 1860, in Dieuze, Lorraine; died Feb. 18,1956, in Paris. French composer and musician. Member of the Institut de France (1912).

In 1887, Charpentier graduated from the Paris Conservatory, where he had studied with J. Massenet. His work developed the traditions of the French lyric opera and the verists. The opera Louise (1900, libretto by the composer), based on the life of a Parisian working woman, achieved great popularity. Charpentier’s other works include the opera Julien (1913), whose music was taken from the symphonic drama La Vie du poéte (1892); the suite Impressions d’ltalie (1890; reworked as a ballet, 1913); and the song cycle Les Fleurs du mal (1895), based on the poems by C. Baudelaire. Charpentier organized festivals of folk music and in 1902 founded a people’s conservatory.

REFERENCES

Frantsuzskaia muzyka vtoroi poloviny XIX v.: Sb. perevodnykh rabot. Edited by M. Druskin. Moscow, 1938.
Baser, F. “Gustave Charpentier.” Musica, 1956, no. 4.