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Marcel Dupré
May 3, 1886 - May 30, 1971
born in Rouen, France, composed during the Modern period
Biography
Marcel Dupré was the foremost French organ virtuoso of his time, an heir to the great tradition of Romantic French organ playing and composing. Dupré was famed for his ability to improvise; he also composed substantial works and was a widely traveled recitalist and an influential teacher.

His pedigree as a French organist was impeccable. His father and two grandfathers were organists and choirmasters, and he was tutored privately by Guilmant in 1898. Dupré studied at the Paris Conservatory (1902-1914) with Vierne, Diémer, and Widor. He had already given his first organ recital at age 10, had been appointed organist at St. Vivien at 12, and had had his oratorio Le Songe de Jacob performed (in his home) at 15. As a youth he also took long walks with the organ builder Cavaillé-Coll; the two discussed organ construction. In 1914, after already having won conservatory prizes for organ and fugue, he received the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Psyché.

In 1920 Dupré gave a series of ten recitals in which he played from memory the complete organ works of J.S. Bach; he had learned the music during World War I, for which he had been found unfit for duty. He toured extensively as a virtuoso, giving as many as 110 recitals in a single trip and making ten tours of the U.