Gustave Samazeuilh

Gustave Samazeuilh
(b Bordeaux, 2 June 1877; d Paris, 4 Aug 1967). French composer and critic. He knew Ravel from childhood and they remained friends until Ravel’s death (1937).

Debussy, however, was a greater musical influence. They met in 1896 when Samazeuilh was 19. The following year he studied the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune with Debussy and became his propagandist. He attended the first 12 performances of Pélleas et Mélisande, and declared ‘I was, I am, a Debussyst, as I am a Wagnerian’. In Paris, he studied with d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum, then briefly with Chausson. Chausson introduced him, in 1897, to Dukas, whose disciple and friend Samazeuilh became. During his years of study, he made several visits to Germany (1894, 1897, 1898). It was at Bayreuth that he met Richard Strauss.