Albéric Magnard

Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard (; 9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, somewhat influenced by César Franck and Vincent d’Indy. Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German invaders and died defending it. Biography Magnard was born in Paris, the son of , a bestselling author and editor of Le Figaro. Albéric could have chosen to live the comfortable life that his family’s wealth afforded him, but he disliked being called “fils du Figaro” and decided to make a career for himself in music, based entirely on his own talent and without any help from family connections. After military service and graduating from law school, he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied counterpoint with Théodore Dubois and went to the classes of Jules Massenet. There he met Vincent d’Indy, with whom he studied fugue and orchestration for four years, writing his first two Symphonies under d’Indy’s tutelage. Magnard dedicated his Symphony No. 1 to d’Indy; and the two men always respected each other, despite their marked political differences (Magnard was pro-Dreyfus). Francis Magnard did what he could to support Albéric’s career wh