Léon Ehrhart (11 May 1854 – 4 October 1875) was a French composer.

Life

Born in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

(

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

), Ehrhart had his first music lessons in his hometown with Joseph Heyberger. He then became an organ student of Charles-Alexis Chauvet in Paris and at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

a student of François Benoist, with whom he studied composition. In 1874, he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata ''Acis et Galatée'' with a libretto by Eugène Adenis. At this time, he composed the "musical prologue" ''La Muse populaire'' for the opening of the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

. At the beginning of 1875, he embarked on the Prix de Rome trip to the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

Léon Ehrhart
on Villa Medici in Rome. There he composed an oratorio and the

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

''Maître Martin''. In September of that year, Ehrhart travelled to Venice, where he became infected with

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. He became seriously ill on his way back to Rome. He had to interrupt his journey at Porretta near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he died. A cunning

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

of the

aortic arch The aortic arch, arch of the aorta, or transverse aortic arch () is the part of the aorta between the ascending and descending aorta. The arch travels backward, so that it ultimately runs to the left of the trachea. Structure The aorta begins ...

was diagnosed as the cause of death.

References

External links

Léon Ehrhart
(Musica et Memoria) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrhart, Leon 1854 births 1875 deaths 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French opera composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Mulhouse Prix de Rome for composition