Louis Fourestier

Louis Félix André Fourestier was a French conductor, composer, and cellist born on 31 May 1892 in Montpellier. He studied at the Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation under André Gédalge and Vincent d'Indy. Fourestier received the Prix Rossini in 1924 for the cantata Patria and the Premier Prix de Rome in 1925 for La Mort d'Adonis. His conducting career began at the Opéra-Comique in 1927 with a production of Cavalleria rusticana. He led the Orchestre symphonique de Paris in 1928 and joined the Opéra de Paris in 1938. Between 1945 and 1963, Fourestier taught orchestral conducting at the Paris Conservatoire. His discography included recordings of works by Claude Debussy such as La Mer and Nocturnes, as well as compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns. He performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1946 and 1947. Fourestier died on 30 September 1976 in Paris.