Paul Dukas (1865 – 1935). The son of a banker, Paul Dukas began composing almost by accident during a long illness when he was 14. After studying with Dubois and Guiraud, he submitted several pieces for the Prix de Rome competition; though he won second prize one year, he was dissatisfied with his progress and decided that he would be happier as a music critic. As it turned out, he was successful in that profession for most of his life, yet he did not forego composing. Indeed, though Dukas composed relatively few pieces and actually destroyed several of them himself, his works had a profound influence on the next generation of French composers.