Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)

While his studies destined him for a career as a lawyer, Chausson, on the threshold of his twenties, hesitated between painting, literature and music. In 1878, he decided on the latter. He first took private lessons with Massenet, then entered the Conservatoire in the classes of the latter and Franck. He was more than twenty-three years old. In some twenty-one brief years of creation, he left several remarkable works, including a unique opera, Le Roi Arthus, a symphony in B flat, the Poème for violin and orchestra, the Trio in G minor, the Concert for violin, string quartet and piano, and about fifty songs, including Le Poème de l’amour et de la mer and Chanson perpétuelle.