Chrétien

Originally from Compiègne, Hedwige Chrétien (1859-1944) enrolled at the Paris Conservatory at age 15 to study everything on offer at that time, winning Premiers Prix in solfège, keyboard studies, harmony, counterpoint and fugue. The director of the Conservatoire Théodore Dubois, wrote that “Hedwige Chrétien is a perfect musician and one of the most brilliant prize winners of the Conservatoire”. In 1890, she was engaged as Professor of Solfègeat the Conservatoire, but gave up her position by 1892, for health reasons and to devote herself more fully to composition. And compose she did, accumulating an oeuvre of over 250 works of all kinds, which were well-received in her time.