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Gustave Charpentier
June 25, 1860 - February 18, 1956
born in Dieuze, Lorraine, France, composed during the Romantic period
Biography
Charpentier was born in Dieuze, on June 25, 1860. He did not come from a musical family -- his father was a baker -- but his family encouraged his interest in music and allowed him to study the violin at an early age. His formal studies, however, did not begin until he was a teenager. He began working in a spinning mill in 1875, and gave violin lessons to his employer, Albert Lorthiois. Charpentier's musical abilities must have been impressive, for Lorthiois subsequently sponsored Charpentier for entrance into the Lille Conservatoire. Finally, in 1881, Charpentier was formally accepted into the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied violin with Massart, harmony with Pessard, and composition with Massenet. Charpentier's composition studies with Massenet began in 1885; surprisingly, only two years later, the young composer won the prestigious Prix de Rome for his cantata, Didon.

While living and composing in Rome at the Villa Medici -- a condition of winning the Prix de Rome -- Charpentier completed an number of important works, including a symphony entitled La vie du poete, and an orchestral suite, Impressions d'Italie. He also began work on an opera, Louise, which was destined to become his most famous work.