Charles Tournemire

A precocious child, Charles Tournemire was appointed organist of the church of St. Pierre in Bordeaux at the age of 11. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor, winning in 1891 the first prize in organ; he also studied with d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum. In 1898, Tournemire succeeded Gabriel Pierné as organist in St. Clotilde, a post he held for the rest of his life. As organist, Tournemire toured Germany, Holland, and Russia before the Great War. Between 1900 and 1914 he composed his first five symphonies , all of which were performe...