Born to a
Jewish family in
Aix-en-Provence, Milhaud studied in
Paris at the
Paris Conservatory where he met his fellow group members
Arthur Honegger and
Germaine Tailleferre. He studied
composition under
Charles Widor and
harmony and
counterpoint with
André Gédalge. In addition he studied privately with
Vincent d'Indy. As a young man he worked for a while in the diplomatic entourage of
Paul Claudel, the eminent
poet and
dramatist, who was serving as
ambassador to
Brazil.
On a trip to the
United States in
1922, Darius Milhaud heard "authentic"
jazz for the first time, on the streets of
Harlem,
which left a great impact on his musical outlook. Using some jazz movements, the following year, he finished composing
"La création du monde" ("The Creation of the World"), which was cast as a
ballet in six continuous dance scenes.
He left France in
1939 and emigrated to America in
1940 (his Jewish background made it impossible for him to return to his native country until after
the Liberation); he secured a teaching post at
Mills College in
Oakland, California.
From
1947 to
1971 he taught alternate years at Mills and the
Paris Conservatoire, until poor health, which caused him to use a wheelchair during his later years (beginning sometime before 1947), compelled him to retire. He died in
Geneva.
Milhaud (like his contemporaries
Paul Hindemith, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Bohuslav Martinů and
Heitor Villa-Lobos) was an extremely rapid creator, for whom the art of writing music seemed almost as natural as breathing. His most popular works include
Le Boeuf sur le Toit (ballet),
La création du monde (a ballet for small
orchestra with solo
saxophone, influenced by jazz),
Scaramouche (for Saxophone and Orchestra, also for two
pianos), and
Saudades do Brazil (dance suite). His autobiography is titled
Notes Sans Musique (
Notes Without Music), later revised as
Ma Vie Heureuse (
My Happy Life).
The Conservatoire de Musique Darius Milhaud in Aix-En-Provence is named for him.
