Maurice Thiriet (in French tiʁjɛ/; 2 May 1906 – 28 September 1972) was a French composer of classical and film music.
Born in Meulan, Yvelines, Maurice Thiriet attended the Paris Conservatory from 1925 to 1931, studying counterpoint and fugue with Charles Koechlin, and orchestration and arrangement under Alexis Roland-Manuel. Thiriet's career revolved mainly around film music, completing around seventy scores from 1942 to 1960. A fellow composer Maurice Jaubert, whose life was cut short during World War II, is often cited as a major influence on Thiriet's outlook.
Besides his cinematic output, Thiriet also composed several concert works, including a concerto for the flute, twelve ballets, and three operas. His compositional style, which Jaubert and Roland-Manuel influenced, is characterized by taught construction and modest, nearly impressionistic harmonization, often bearing a neo-classical grace similar to that of the music of Francis Poulenc and Jean Françaix. Thiriet's work was also presented in the art competition during the 1948 Summer Olympics.[1] Thiriet also wrote, the former national anthem of Niger, in 1961.
^ Mark Brill "Maurice Thiriet" in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians