Paul Dukas was a French composer, critic, and teacher, best known for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897), an orchestral scherzo inspired by Goethe’s poem. This work gained widespread popularity, especially after being featured in Disney’s Fantasia (1940).

A student at the Paris Conservatoire, Dukas was deeply influenced by composers like César Franck and Richard Wagner. His meticulous approach led him to destroy many of his compositions, leaving only a small body of published works. Among them, his Symphony in C (1896) and the opera Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (1907) showcase his refined orchestration and harmonic complexity.

Dukas was also a respected music critic and professor at the Paris Conservatoire, where he influenced notable composers like Olivier Messiaen. His works blend Romantic expressiveness with early 20th-century modernism, and while his output was limited, his legacy remains significant in French music.