Much more than merely the author of The Sorcerer's Apprentice (as great as that piece undoubtedly is), Paul Dukas was a fascinating multi-faceted individual—a man of great charm and erudition, a penetrating and insightful music critic and writer par excellance, not to mention a much-loved teacher. An utter prefectioninist when it came to his own music (he is known to have burned the manuscripts of many works over the protests of knowledgeable musical friends, leaving but a handful of highly polished masterpieces), Paul Dukas was also one of the greatest nurturer's of young compositional talent of his time, whose roster of students at the Paris Conservetoire reads like a "who's who" of 20th Century Music. And like most great teachers he didn't produce acolytes and imitators, but rather helped each individual to find their own unique voice. On this final day of National Teacher Appreciation Week, we'll celebrate Dukas the teacher (and by extension all teachers) as we feature music of several of his many illustrious students, including French composers Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Duruflé, Spaniards Manuel de Falla and Joaquin Rodrigo, and the American Walter Piston.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
