Pierre Gabaye

French composer Pierre Gabaye was born in 1930. His began learning the piano at the age of seven, leading him to seek a career as a pianist and composer of both jazz and classical styles. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Simone Plé-Caussade. In 1956 he won the Prix de Rome, later being appointed the Director of Light Music at Radio France. In 1986, Gabaye retired and relocated to Chamonix, where he died in 2000. His music shows very clear influence from the later works of the French neo-classical style, similar to Poulenc and Saint-Saëns. Much of his music is written for wind and brass in a reasonably light-hearted style.