Pougin, François Auguste Arthur Paroisse

1834-

Known as Arthur Pougin. A French musician and writer of note; born at Chateauroux, Indre. The son of itinerate actors; he was first instructed in music by his mother. At the Paris Conservatory he studied the violin under Alard and Guerin, and harmony under Reber and Lhote, later finishing in violin under Berou. In 1855 he became conductor of the Theatre Beaumarchais; later led the Musard concerts, and from 1860 to 1863 the orchestra of the Opera Comique, while from 1856 to 1859 he was assistant conductor and director of rehearsals at the Folies Nouvelles. He then gave up these positions, discontinued teaching and devoted himself to literature of all kinds, especially music. He was musical critic of the fivenement, Le Soir, Le Tribune, and since 1878 of the Journal Officiel. He also contributed to the France Musicale, Chronique musicale, L Art Musical, Le Guide Musical, Revue de Monde Musical, and Le Theatre. He was editor of the Revue de la Musique in 1876, and has held that position on Le Menestrel since 1885. Through his efforts a national festival was held at Rouen in 1875 in honor of the centennary of Boieldieu, and he has aided Lamoureux in forming a Societe d'Harmonie Sacree. He edited the articles on musical subjects in Larousse's Dictionnaire universel and the new edition of Dictionnaire Lyrique by Clement and Larousse. He is an officer of the Academy, and in 1905 was decorated with the Order of the Crown by the King of Italy. His largest work, the Supplement to Feds' Biographic Universelle des Musiciens, was published in two volumes in 1878 and 1880. Among his early works were  Musiciens frangais du XVI He siecle; a biography of Meyerbeer, and numerous biographies of important musicians. His essay on The Situation of Composers of Music, and the Future of Music in France appeared in 1867. He also wrote on Musical Literature in France; Figures of tfie Comic Opera; on the Question of the Liberty of Theatres; on the Question of the Theatre Lyrique; on the Theatre of France during the Revolution; The Real Creators of the French Opera, Perrin and Cambert; Historical essay on Music in Russia; Actors and Actresses of Former Times; and Origin of the Gamut and the Seven Notes which Compose It. His most important work is his biography of Giuseppe Verdi, published in Italian in 1881, and translated by J. E.  Matthew in 1887. He found the record of Verdi's birth and thus settled a much disputed point.