Dukas << dyoo KAH >>, Paul Abraham (1865-1935), was a French composer, music teacher, critic, and editor. He became best known for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897), written in a lively symphonic form called a scherzo. Dukas was a master of orchestration. He has been praised for the clarity of his music and for his ability to produce a variety of tone colors from different combinations of instruments.
Dukas was born on Oct. 1, 1865, in Paris. He taught at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris for several years. He also served as a music critic and prepared for publication and performance works by such composers as Ludwig van Beethoven, Francois Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Domenico Scarlatti. Dukas composed only a few works in addition to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. They include the overture Polyeucte (1891), Symphony in C (1897), the opera Ariadne and Bluebeard (1907), and the ballet The Peri (1912). Dukas died on May 17, 1935.
