ABOUT JACQUES IBERT
French composer who was known for his orchestral works Divertissement from 1930 and Escales from 1922. He was remembered for his eclectic ouevre.
He won the Prix de Rome, the top prize at the Paris Conservatoire, the first time he tried for it.
He fled to Switzerland after being proscribed by the pro-Nazi government of Paris. He finished out his life as administrator of the Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux, which placed him in charge of the Paris Opera and the Opéra-Comique.
His father was a prominent businessman, and his mother was a pianist trained by the famed Antoine François Marmontel. She motivated him to develop his talents.
His orchestral composition La Ballade de la geôle de Reading was inspired by The Ballad of Reading Gaol, written by the esteemed Oscar Wilde .
