Fernand Halphen

Fernand Gustave Halphen (18 February 1872 – 16 May 1917) was a French Jewish composer. Life and career Fernand Halphen was the son of Georges Halphen, a diamond merchant, and of Henriette Antonia Stern (1836–1905), who was from the Stern banking family. From the age of ten, he studied under the direction of Gabriel Fauré before entering the Paris Conservatory where he took a composition course taught by Ernest Guiraud, who also taught Paul Dukas, Claude Debussy and Erik Satie. After Guiraud's death in 1892, Halphen studied with Jules Massenet, who also taught Henri Rabaud, Florent Schmitt, Charles Koechlin and Reynaldo Hahn. He won first prize for his fugue in 1895, and the next year won second place for the second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Mélusine, behind Jules Mouquet and Richard d'Ivry. Fernand Halphen is known principally as a composer. Among his notable works are the one-act opera Le Cor Fleuri (libretto by Ephraïm Mikhael and André-Ferdinand Hérold), which debuted in the national theatre Opéra-Comique, 10 May 1904, several symphonies, one of which was performed in Paris and in Monte Carlo, a suite for orchestra, the pantomime Hagoseida, the ballet Le Réveil du faune, some chamber music such as a sonata for violin and piano, works for organ as well as songs. Captain of the thirteenth territorial infantry regiment during World War I, Halphen was killed in action on 16 May 1917.