Paris Conservatoire and French School

Abstract

Abstract Although in the 1970s the French republic created another Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, on an equal standing with Paris, the model for most musical institutions of Europe was the Paris Conservatoire. Founded in 1784 as École Royale de Musique, in 1795 it assumed its present title. Past directors include Luigi Cherubini, Ambroise Thomas, Theodore Dubois, Gabriel Fauré, and Marcel Dupré. Among its professors were Hector Berlioz, Anton Reicha, Paul Dukas, Jules Massenet, Charles-Marie Widor, Charles Tournemire, Marcel Dupré, Olivier Messiaen, and Nadia Boulanger. Until 1977, there was only one flute class. Paul Taffanel, Philippe Gaubert, Marcel Moyse, and Jean-Pierre Rampal were some of its professors. Adolphe Hennebains and Crunelle, although not as highly profiled or as well known, also left their mark, as did William Kincaid, Joseph Mariano, and Julius Baker in the United States. There are no private lessons with the professor. All teaching is done in front of the whole class, who must in theory attend twelve hours of master classes a week. Private lessons are the responsibility of the associate professor. staffed with the professors and best students of the Conservatoire. For a century, it was associated with the school only in name. To this day, the Paris Conservatoire has very high standards, but the history of French orchestras, unfortunately, has not, for many reasons, lived up to the reputation of one of the world’s best music schools.