Jacques Ibert

Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied under Paul Vidal at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1919, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I, he won the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, his cantata Le poète et la fée.

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

In tandem with his creative work, Ibert was the director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome from 1937. 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. From 1955 to 1957 he directed Paris's Opéra-Comique. He died in Paris.

Ibert's music is considered to be typically quite "light" in character, often witty, colourfully orchestrated with attractive melodies. Although he was not a member of Les Six, his music shares some characteristics with theirs. He did not however 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: Escales (1922) is a ripely romantic work for large orchestra, while Divertissement (1930) for small orchestra, is lighthearted, even frivolous. The latter was based on his earlier incidental music for Eugène Labiche's play Un Chapeau de paille d'Italie (The Italian Straw Hat). In the course of the work he comically quotes many pieces, including Mendelssohn's Wedding March.

Other prominent pieces include the symphonic poem La Ballade de la geôle de Reading (based on the poem by Oscar Wilde), his concerto for flute and Concertino da Camera for saxophone and Histoires for solo piano. He composed a number of operas, such as L'Aiglon (The Eaglet), and the operetta Les Petites Cardinal, some together with Arthur Honegger. Among his film scores is the one for Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948). In 1956 he wrote the work Bacchanale to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the BBC Third Programme. Its premiere was given by Eugene Goossens. In addition, he wrote some chamber music of merit.