Albéric Magnard was a French composer of operas, chamber music, and orchestral works. Due to his reclusive and eccentric social tendencies, he was not very well known during his lifetime. Magnard was born into a wealthy family in Paris in 1865. Since his mother died when he was only four years old, he was mostly raised by his father, who was a successful author and also worked as an editor for the French newspaper Le Figaro. His initial musical instruction was included in his schooling, although he didn't display any strong interests or musical talents until later in his life. In 1882, he completed his secondary education, and then he spent six months living a monastic lifestyle at the Ramsgate Abbey in England. This was followed by service in the military, and then he enrolled in law school. Magnard discovered his passion in music in 1886, when he attended a powerful performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Bayreuth, Germany. This had a deep and lasting effect, and in 1887 after he completed his law degree, he began studying music at the Paris Conservatory under Theodore Dubois, Jules Massenet, and Vincent d'Indy. While he was still a student, Magnard composed his Symphony No. 1, and his first opera, Yolande. These early works were not very popular, and some of the performances that they did receive were an effort to win the favor of his father, which was endlessly frustrating to the composer. He resented his wealthy upbringing and wanted to achieve success based on his own accomplishments. In 1894, his father passed away and he channeled his grief into the orchestral work Chant Funebre. Two years later, Magnard married Julia Creton, and he began teaching counterpoint at d'Indy's newly established Schola Cantorum. He also composed his Symphony No. 3, which is his most popular work. Magnard's distaste for commercial music publishing companies led him to self-publish all of his works after this point, which both limited their distribution and exposure and contributed to his obscurity as a composer. He composed and taught until his death in France in 1914, which is probably more well known than his career. At the beginning of World War I, he sent his wife and daughters to a remote location where they would be safe, while he stayed to defend his home in Baron, Oise, from invading German forces. On September 3, 1914, Magnard shot and killed German soldiers who were trespassing on his estate, and then they set fire to the house with him still inside. The fire took Magnard's life and also destroyed many of his scores. However, this courageous act made him a national hero. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi