Alberic Magnard

Personal

Vocation

French composer, sometimes referred to as the "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers. Magnard published many of his own compositions at his own expense. Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German invaders and died defending it. On 3 September 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Magnard sent his wife and two daughters to a safe hiding place while he stayed behind to guard the estate of Manoir de Fontaines at Baron, Oise. When German soldiers trespassed, he fired at them, killing one of them, and they fired back and set the house on fire. It is believed that Magnard died in the fire, but his body could not be identified in the remains. The fire destroyed Magnard's unpublished scores, such as the orchestral score of his early opera Yolande, the orchestral score of Guercoeur (the piano reduction had been published, and the orchestral score of the second act was extant) and a more recent song cycle. Link to Wikipedia biography