Paul Wachs Explained

Paul Étienne Victor Wachs (19 September 1851 – 6 July 1915) was a French composer, organist and pianist.[1] He is most remembered for his salon compositions for piano.

Biography

Born in Paris, Wachs was the son of the French composer Frédéric Wachs (1825–1899).[2] He was a student at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his teachers included François Benoist and César Franck for organ and Victor Massé and Antoine François Marmontel for composition.[2] [3]

After his studies, he became the second organist at the Church of Saint-Sulpice.[2] In 1874, he left this position to be the choirmaster at the Church of Saint-Merri.[2] This position had previously been held by Camille Saint-Saëns.[3] He held this position until 1896.[2] In 1908, Wachs bought a large property in Saint-Mandé, which he named Les Myrtles after one of his compositions.[2] He lived there with his family until his death at age 63.[2]

Among his works for piano, the most famous is Promenade à Âne.

List of compositions

Alphabetical list based on IMSLP.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paul Wachs. www.musopen.org. 17 April 2015.
  2. Web site: Paul Étienne Wachs. www.apophtegme.com. 17 April 2015. myrtes. dead. https://archive.today/20150417200750/http://www.apophtegme.com/ARTS/myrtes.htm. 17 April 2015.
  3. Web site: Paul Etienne Victor Wachs. Music of Yesterday. 17 April 2015.