Georges Delerue

Georges Delerue (1925–1992) was a French composer most celebrated for his film scores, which won him multiple César Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Roubaix, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Milhaud and Büsser, and began his career in French new wave cinema, collaborating with François Truffaut (Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player), Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais before working increasingly in Hollywood productions (Platoon, Steel Magnolias, The Day of the Dolphin).

His score for Flemming Flindt's The Lesson (1963) was composed for a television production for French television, then reworked for stage performance. The ballet, adapted from Eugène Ionesco's absurdist play La Leçon about a professor who murders his pupil, demands music that supports dark comedy, escalating tension and violent climax — requirements that Delerue met with characteristic dramatic intelligence. The Lesson has become one of the most frequently performed short ballets in the international repertoire.