Darius Milhaud
A relentlessly inventive French composer who wove jazz, Brazilian rhythms, and multiple keys into a joyous, sprawling musical universe.
1892–1974 (age 82)·French composer, conductor and teacher·Birthday: September 4·The Lost Generation
Biography
Darius Milhaud was a force of nature in 20th-century music, a member of the Parisian collective Les Six whose output was as vast as his influences were wide. Growing up in Provence and later studying at the Paris Conservatoire, he found his voice not in European tradition alone but in the sounds he encountered as a diplomat in Rio de Janeiro and the jazz of Harlem. These experiences fueled a style built on polytonality—the simultaneous use of several keys—creating music that could be bustling, melancholic, or exuberantly sunny, as in his iconic 'Le Bœuf sur le Toit.' A dedicated teacher, first in Paris and then for decades at Mills College in California, he shaped generations of American composers, from the jazz-pop of Burt Bacharach to the minimalism of Steve Reich, passing on not a dogma but an insatiable curiosity for sound.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Darius was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Darius Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Darius's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 40
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 50
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1952Turned 60
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1962Turned 70
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1972Turned 80
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Died at 82
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
Key Achievements
- Composed the ballet 'La Création du Monde,' a seminal 1923 work that integrated jazz idioms into classical concert music.
- Was a founding member of Les Six, the group of French composers who reacted against Romanticism and Impressionism in the early 1920s.
- Authored a massive catalog of over 400 works, including operas, symphonies, chamber music, and film scores.
- Mentored a staggering array of students at Mills College, including Dave Brubeck, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Did You Know?
He suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis for much of his life and composed while seated in a wheelchair.
He used his experiences in Brazil as a basis for the orchestral suite 'Saudades do Brasil.'
He and his wife, actress Madeleine Milhaud, are buried in the Jewish cemetery of his hometown, Aix-en-Provence.
“A composer who is afraid of writing something that is not original is like a gardener who is afraid to use his spade for fear it will make a hole in the ground.”
