Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CH CBE was born on September 8, 1934, and passed away on March 14, 2016. He was an English composer and conductor who became Master of the Queen’s Music in 2004. During his time as a student at the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music, Davies worked with other students to create a group called New Music Manchester.
Lili Boulanger
Marie Juliette Boulanger (French: [maʁi ʒyljɛt bulɑ̃ʒe]; 21 August 1893 – 15 March 1918), professionally known as Lili Boulanger (French: [lili bulɑ̃ʒe]), was a French composer and musician connected to the Symbolist and Impressionist movements. She was the first woman to win the Grand Prix de Rome composition competition. Her older sister was Nadia Boulanger, a composer and music teacher, and their father was Ernest Boulanger, a composer.
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (French: [ʒyljɛt nadja bulɑ̃ʒe]; 16 September 1887 – 22 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor, and composer. She taught many important composers and musicians from the twentieth century and sometimes performed as a pianist and organist. She was born into a musical family.
Germaine Tailleferre
Marcelle Germaine Tailleferre (French: [ʒɛʁmɛn tɑjfɛʁ]; born Taillefesse; April 19, 1892 – November 7, 1983) was a French composer. She was the only woman in a group of composers called Les Six.
Georges Auric
Georges Auric (French: [ʒɔʁʒ ɔʁik]; February 15, 1899 – July 23, 1983) was a French composer born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was part of a group called Les Six, which worked closely with artists Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he was 20 years old, he helped create the music for several ballets and stage productions.
Arthur Honegger
Oscar-Arthur Honegger (French: [aʁtyʁ ɔnɛɡɛʁ]; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer born in France. He spent much of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six.
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (French: [fʁɑ̃sis ʒɑ̃ maʁsɛl pulɛ̃k]; January 7, 1899 – January 30, 1963) was a French composer and pianist. He wrote many types of music, including songs, piano pieces, chamber music, choral works, operas, ballets, and orchestral music. Some of his most famous works are the piano suite Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928) for harpsichord and orchestra, the Organ Concerto (1938), the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), and the Gloria (1959) for soprano, choir, and orchestra.
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud (French: [daʁjys mijo]; Provençal: [miˈjawt]; September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of a group called Les Six, also known as The Group of Six, and one of the most productive composers of the 20th century. His music was influenced by jazz and Brazilian music and often used a technique called polytonality, which involves using multiple musical keys at the same time.
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Heinrich Krenek was an Austrian composer who later became an American citizen. He was born on August 23, 1900, and died on December 22, 1991. Krenek studied and used atonality and other modern musical styles in his work.
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was born on July 6, 1898, and died on September 6, 1962. He was a composer from Germany and Austria. He is most famous for writing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long working relationship with the writer Bertolt Brecht, and for creating the music for many films.