Albert Dupuis

Albert Dupuis (1 March 1877 – 19 September 1967) was a Belgian composer.
Biography.
Albert Dupuis was born in Verviers on 1 March 1877.
The son of a music teacher, Dupuis studied the finesses of the violin, the piano and the flute from the age of 8, at the conservatory in his hometown, Verviers, where Guillaume Lekeu, composer of classical music, and Henri Vieuxtemps, composer and violinist, had also taken residence. Orphaned at age 15, he worked as a tutor at the Grand Theatre of Verviers while pursuing his studies, including from Francis Duyzings for harmony. As he was a brilliant and precocious student, he composed his first comic opera already at the age of 18.
Noticed by the French composer and teacher Vincent d'Indy in 1897, Dupuis was invited to work with him at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. He was for a time the coach of the choir of Saint-Eustache, but in 1900 he returned to Verviers to marry. In 1903 he won the Prix de Rome Belgium (not to be confused with the French Prix de Rome) with his cantata "La Chanson d'Halewyn" and on 5 March his opera "Jean-Michel" premiered at La Monnaie, the Royal Theatre of the Mint in Brussels..
Appointed conductor of the Theatre of Ghent in 1905, he withdrew when the season was completed, to devote himself to composition. But when in 1907 the council of Verviers offered him the post of director at the conservatory, he accepted and held it until his retirement in 1947.
During his lifetime, his works met with some success in Brussels and in the major cities in Belgium (particularly in Flanders) and France. In particular his opera "La Passion", played more than 150 times at La Monnaie and he directed it several times. He also enjoyed the esteem of his peers, as Eugène Ysaÿe, dedicated of several of his works and who made his works known in the United States.
Legacy.
Two of Dupuis' daughters, Gislène (cello) and Irene (violin), were eminent concert musicians. A street is named after him in the village of Stembert.
Characteristics of his works.
He became a follower of the School of César Franck through his instructor d' Indy. Nevertheless, his style approaches much de style of Gabriel Fauré and his music can be styled as impressionistic. He was essentially an opera composer (having composed fifteen), all his works are imbued with a lyrical feeling.
Selected works.
Viola