Born in Marseilles, Sept 4, 1892
Died in Geneva, June 22, 1974
- Milhaud grew up in Provence, where his father was an almond dealer. He reported that the songs of the amandières (the women who sorted almonds for sale) were one of the first musical influences in his life.
- Milhaud’s Paris Conservatory teachers included Dukas and Widor.
- Influences on Milhaud’s style were many and eclectic, including jazz, polytonality, and the music of Brazil (unable to serve in the military in WWI, he instead served as an attaché to the French minister in Brazil during the war years).
- Milhaud was part of the Satie-inspired, Jean Cocteau-befriended group of six French avant-garde composers active in the 1920s, known as Les six.
- In the latter part of his life, Milhaud divided his time between teaching at Mills College, Oakland, California, and at the Paris Conservatory. His students included Dave Brubeck.1
Biography from the Milken Archive
Sources
- Jeremy Drake, “Milhaud, Darius,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 14, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000018674.