Dukas, Paul

 (1865-1935)

French composer, born in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in 1909 became a teacher of composition there.

His reputation as a composer rests principally on two works: the orchestral scherzo The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1897), a brilliant piece of programme music based on a ballad by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; and the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue (Ariane and Bluebeard, 1907), one of the most important of modern French operas.

Among other works by Dukas are the overture King Lear (1883), the ballet La péri (The Genie, 1912), and the Sonnet de Ronsard (1924), for voice and piano.