Lili Boulanger

Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) was a French composer whose brief but influential career helped shape early twentieth-century French music. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire and closely associated with the musical circle of her sister, Nadia Boulanger, she became the first woman to win the Prix de Rome for composition in 1913 with Faust et Hélène. Her works include orchestral, choral, chamber, and vocal music, notable for their refined orchestration, expressive harmonic language, and sensitivity to text. Despite her early death at the age of 24, compositions such as Psalm 130, Vieille prière bouddhique, D’un matin de printemps, and Pie Jesu have secured her place as one of the most distinctive voices of French music in the early twentieth century.