Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, organist, and teacher, one of the central figures of French music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His work became a refined bridge from late Romanticism to musical modernism.
Fauré's most famous work is his gentle, luminous Requiem which, unlike the fearsome requiems of his predecessors, sounds rather like a lullaby of peace and consolation. His elegiac Pavane is also widely known. Fauré was an unsurpassed master of chamber music and song, and his harmonic language — flexible, refined, full of subtle shades — deeply influenced later generations. As professor of composition (and later director) at the Paris Conservatoire he trained many outstanding musicians, among them Maurice Ravel.
