Georges Auric

Composer, born in Lodève, S France. He studied under Vincent d'Indy, and became one of Les Six. His compositions range widely from full orchestral pieces and ballets to songs and film scores, such as Passport to Pimlico (1949) and Moulin Rouge (1952). In 1962 he was appointed director of the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique, but in 1968 resigned most of his official positions in order to compose.

As a young student of at the Paris Conservatory in 1920, and, considered avant-garde, Auric became part of Satie and Cocteau’s famous group, Les Six.

When Jean Cocteau started making motion pictures, at the beginning of the 1930s Auric began writing film scores. He wrote soundtracks for a number of French and British films, and his success led to writing the music for Hollywood movies too.

Films he scored included Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946), Passport To Pimlico (1948), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), Roman Holiday (1953), Le Salaire de la Peur (1953), Rififi (1956), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), and Therese and Isabelle (1968).

In 1962 he gave up writing for motion pictures when he became director of the Opéra National de Paris and then chairman of SACEM, the French Performing Rights Society. Auric continued to write classical chamber music, especially for winds, right up to his death.