Fernande Decruck

Composer Fernande Decruck was a prolific creator of works for saxophone and other instruments. Her distinctive style drew on both classical forms and Impressionism. One of Decruck's students was Olivier Messiaen, who later dedicated a composition to her. She married Maurice Decruck, a multiinstrumentalist, and accompanied him to New York, where he had landed a position in the New York Philharmonic. The couple had three children, Jeannine, Michel, and Alain. Decruck composed a large variety of works, including works piano, organ, orchestra, and a cello concerto, as well as for saxophone and other wind instruments. Her best-known work is the Sonata in C sharp minor for saxophone and piano. Decruck died in Fontainebleau on August 6, 1954. By the early 2020s, a half dozen of Decruck's works had been recorded, including a Harp Concerto and a Poème Héroïque for trumpet, horn, and orchestra.