Gabriel FaureBorn: May 12, 1845Died: November 14, 1924
At the age of twenty, he left the institution where he had been trained and became a church organist in Brittany and later in Paris. After fighting in the Franco-Prussian war he returned to the Niedermeyer, where he had received his training, as a professor of composition. He later also had positions as choirmaster and organist, and in 1896 became a professor of composition at the Conservatoire, where he became the director in 1905. He held that position until 1920.
Although he had a small, mild look about him he was able to run the Conservatoire with a firm hand. When he started to introduce reforms several of the professors revolted. He calmly got rid of the dissenters one by one. There were many resignations, and it was said he "needed his daily cartload of victims, like Robespierre." Theodore Dubois, whom Faure replaced, had remained on the board of directors as a professor emeritus. In the end, Dubois also sent in his resignation letter because "M. Faure was transforming the Conservatoire into a temple for the music of the future." he replaced him with two musicians who understood his vision, d'Indy and Debussy. 
After he turned 64 years of age, and after having received high honors, tragedy struck. Deafness set in, complicated by distortion of pitch. High frequencies sounded flat and low ones sharp. It must have been agonizing. However, he continued to compose, and some of his best music comes from that time in his life. In 1920 he resigned from the Conservatoire, but he continued to compose music almost to the day of his death in 1924.
Chopin's music was a major influence for him and it reflects the delicate refinement of Chopin. Technical displays of showmanship were not his forte. His melodies were beautifully crafted, and he had created about one hundred songs by 1922. His piano music can be difficult, but it is lyrical and elegant and worth the effort. He used a wide range over the keyboard, which is not easy for the amateur to play. Harold C. Schonberg, New York Times critic has said of him, "Can there be such a thing as being too sensitive? He was a master whose delicately adjusted music lacks the grand gesture and excitement that could give it mass popularity......It is music that contains the essence of everything Gallic, form, grace, wit, logic, individualtiy, urbanity. It is music that has attracted a small but fanatic band of admirers; and those who love the music of Faure love it as a private, cherished gift from one of the gentlest and most subtle of composers."
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