Philippe Gaubert

Philippe Gaubert was born in Cahors in 1879 and died in Paris in 1941. He was a leading figure of the French flute school and one of the most active conductors in Parisian musical life in the first half of the twentieth century.

He was a favourite pupil of Paul Taffanel. At the Paris Conservatoire he won the first prize for flute in 1894 and the second Prix de Rome in 1905. From 1897 he was a member of the orchestras of the Paris Opéra and the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Encouraged by Taffanel, he also became an assistant at the Société des Concerts from 1904.

Following his service in the First World War, he was appointed principal conductor of the Société des Concerts and flute professor at the Conservatoire in 1919. The following year he took over as chief conductor of the Opéra, a post he complemented in 1931 with that of artistic director.

As a composer he was prolific, writing works for flute, operas, ballets and orchestral music. His style sits between Fauré and Dukas, with a colourful harmonic language and elegant melodic lines. His 1919 recordings for the French branch of the Gramophone Company document a flexible and expressive manner of playing. Together with Taffanel he wrote the Méthode complète for flute (Paris, 1923).