Charles-Édouard Lefebvre (19 June 1843 – 8 September 1917) was a French composer.
Lefebvre was born in
Paris, the son of painter Charles Lefebvre, and studied with
Charles Gounod and
Ambroise Thomas at the
Paris Conservatoire. In 1870, he was awarded the
Prix de Rome together with
Henri Maréchal (1842–1924) for the cantata Le Jugement de Dieu. He was awarded the Prix Chartier for his compositions twice, in 1884 and 1891. In 1895 he succeeded
Benjamin Godard as director of the Paris Conservatoire's chamber music class. According to Elaine Brody's entry on him in
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), "In his own words, he worked in pastels rather than oils." He died in
Aix-les-Bains,
Savoie, aged 74.
Works
Le Jugement de Dieu (1870)
Le Chant du cavalier (Duo for Cello (or Bassoon) and Piano (or Organ), 1876)
op. 46: 3 Pièces (Duos for Cello and Piano, 1877)
Lucrèce (opera, 1878)
op. 53: Le Trésor (comic opera in 1 act, libretto by François Coppée, premiered 1883 in
Angers)
op. 57: Suite (for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon and Horn) (1884)
op. 66: Zaïre (opera in 4 acts, libretto by
P. Collin based on the homonymous play by
Voltaire, premiered 1887 in
Lille)
op. 68: Méditation (for Organ and Orchestra, arranged for Harmonium, Piano, Violin and Cello in 1899 by A. Jeanbernat)
Djelma (opera in 3 acts, libretto by Charles Lomon, premiered on May 25, 1894 at the
Théâtre de l'Opéra in Paris)
Andante (for 2 Celli, 1895)
op. 98: Sonate pour violoncelle et piano (in a minor, dedicated to Mme. Félix Guyon, 1896)
op.102: Dieu Pieces pour hatbois et piano (Andante et Allegro)
op. 118: Fantaisie Caprice (for Clarinet in Bb and Piano)