Jacques Ibert

French composer Jacques Ibert studied music from an early age at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I.

Ibert pursued a successful composing career, writing (sometimes in collaboration with other composers) seven operas, five ballets, incidental music for plays and films, songs, choral works, and chamber music. He is probably best remembered for his orchestral works including Divertissement (1930) and Escales (1922).

As a composer, Ibert did not attach himself to any of the prevalent genres of music of his time, and has been described as an eclectic. This is seen even in his best-known pieces: Divertissement, for small orchestra is lighthearted, even frivolous, and Escales(1922) is a ripely romantic work for large orchestra.

Among Ibert's early orchestral compositions were La Ballade de la geôle de Reading, inspired by Oscar Wilde's poem, and Escales (Ports of call), inspired by his experiences of Mediterranean ports while he was serving in the navy. The first of these works was played at the Concerts Colonne in October 1922, conducted by Gabriel Pierné; the second was performed in January 1924 with Paul Paray conducting the Orchestre Lamoureux. The two works made Ibert an early reputation both at home and abroad. His publisher Alphonse Leduc commissioned two collections of piano music from him,Histoires and Les Rencontres, which enhanced his popularity. Rencontres. In 1927 his opéra-bouffe Angélique was produced; it was the most successful of his operas, a musical farce, displaying eclectic style and flair.

In tandem with his creative work, Ibert was the director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome. During World War II he was proscribed by the pro-Nazi government in Paris, and for a time he went into exile in Switzerland. Restored to his former eminence in French musical life after the war, his final musical appointment was in charge of the Paris Opera and the Opéra-Comique.