Honegger, Arthur (hŭn`ēgər, Fr. ärtür ônāgĕr`), 1892–1955, Swiss-French composer, studied at the conservatories of Zürich and Paris. One of the group of Parisian composers called Les Six Six, Les (lā sēs), a short-lived group of six young early 20th-century French musicians.
..... Click the link for more information. , he wrote music ranging from satire to intensely religious works that are marked by incisive rhythms and sharp dissonances, often the result of his use of polytonality. Besides Pacific 231 (1923)—the first of three mouvements symphoniques—his outstanding works are of a theatrical nature, such as ballets, the operas Judith (1926) and Antigone (1927, libretto by Jean Cocteau Cocteau, Jean (zhäN kôktō`), 1889–1963, French writer, visual artist, and filmmaker.
..... Click the link for more information. ), music for films, including Mayerling (1935), and the stage oratorio King David (1921). He also set texts of Paul Claudel Claudel, Paul (pōl klōdĕl`), 1868–1955, French dramatist, poet, and diplomat.
..... Click the link for more information. to music.

Honegger, Arthur

(born March 10, 1892, Le Havre, France—died Nov. 27, 1955, Paris) French composer. Born to Swiss-French parents, he studied in Zürich, then at the Paris Conservatory. One of the group known as Les Six, though not truly in sympathy with its aims, he first gained international renown for his oratorio Le Roi David (1921). His exciting orchestral piece Pacific 231 (1923), portraying a locomotive, caused a sensation. Prolific throughout his life, he composed five symphonies (including Symphony No. 3 known as Liturgique, for the end of World War II), the oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1938), and numerous scores for ballet, theatre, and films (including Abel Gance's Napoleon).