Writer/journalist Famous Names Starting with Letter P

Was a composer, pianist, and husband of Paule Maurice. Lantier wrote Sicilienne pour saxophone alto

Was a composer, pianist, and husband of Paule Maurice. Lantier wrote Sicilienne pour saxophone alto et piano.[1]

Was a French composer of classical music. He was a student of Darius Milhaud, and though not widely

Was a French composer of classical music. He was a student of Darius Milhaud, and though not widely popular, was respected. He brought the ideas of Les Six, of which his instructor was a member, into the middle 1900's. This group called for a fresh artistic perspective on music. The music of Dubois is characteristically light hearted with interesting harmonic and melodic textures. [1]

Is a French writer. His first novel, Small lives (1984), is widely regarded as a masterpiece in cont

Is a French writer. His first novel, Small lives (1984), is widely regarded as a masterpiece in contemporary French literature. He won several prizes for Small lives, The Origin of the World (1996) and his body of work. His novels and stories have been translated into German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and English.

Was a French composer and conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director. Pierre

Was a French composer and conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director. Pierre's son Henri Montan Berton (1767–1844) was also a composer, more famous than Pierre himself.

Is a renowned French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scan

Is a renowned French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scandals. In his 1990 book L'Homme de l'ombre ("Man of the Shadows"), Péan went into great detail about Jacques Foccart, who was Charles de Gaulle's adviser on African matters, describing him as a man of mystery and yet the most powerful person in the Fifth Republic. As a result of Péan's revelations, Foccart unsuccessfully sued for libel

Is a French writer of fantasy and science-fiction. The novels of Pierre Pevel are written is a style

Is a French writer of fantasy and science-fiction. The novels of Pierre Pevel are written is a style approaching that of uchronia (or, alternative history), and in particular of fantasy uchronia, in the sense that where it's set, is in a universe strongly inspired by a precise historical period, well documented, but that is different from real world events by the presence of wondrous elements (magic, supernatural creatures) rich in consequences but progressively different historically.

Was a French Symbolist poet, playwright, translator (from Greek), and journalist. An anarchist and s

Was a French Symbolist poet, playwright, translator (from Greek), and journalist. An anarchist and supporter of Dreyfuss, he later became one of the first people to defend the Armenians persecuted under the Ottoman Empire. In his youth, Quillard was a pupil of the Lycée Fontanes, where he counted Éphraïm Mickaël, Stuart Merrill, René Ghil, André Fontainas, Rodolphe Darzens, and Georges Vanor among his classmates

Is a French writer, farmer and environmentalist. Originally a Muslim, he converted to Christianity w

Is a French writer, farmer and environmentalist. Originally a Muslim, he converted to Christianity when he started his studies in France as a youth. He invented the concept of « Oasis en tous lieux » - Oasis in any place. He proposes a society that functions in a manner that respects populations and land and supports the development of agricultural techniques that take care of the environment preserving natural resources. His theories relate particularly though not exclusively to arid countries.

Was French composer and early master of the French grand motet. Pierre Robert was educated at the bo

Was French composer and early master of the French grand motet. Pierre Robert was educated at the boys choir, or maîtrise, of Notre-Dame de Paris under the direction of Henry Frémart, Jean Francois, and Cosset Veillot before being appointed master of music at the Cathedral of Senlis in 1643. In 1650 he went to Cathedral of Chartres before returning to Senlis in March 1652. On April 28, 1653, he was appointed music master of Notre Dame de Paris, replacing Valentin de Bournonville where he remained ten years as head of the maîtrise.[1][2][3]

Was a French violinist and composer. Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled to Pa

Was a French violinist and composer. Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled to Paris at the age of 13 and soon became a favourite pupil of the great Giovanni Battista Viotti who found the boy so talented that he charged him no fee for the lessons. Rode inherited his teacher's style to which he added more mildness and a more refined tone. It is also recorded that he made extensive use of portamento. He collaborated with Baillot and Kreutzer on the official Violin Method of the Conservatoire of Paris, published in 1802.

Is the only French person to have testified openly about his experience of deportation during World

Is the only French person to have testified openly about his experience of deportation during World War II due to his homosexuality.Pierre was the fifth and last son of an affluent Catholic Alsatian family, and he was born at the family castle of Fillate

Received the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 1981 for three of his works, including Aime le M

Received the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 1981 for three of his works, including Aime le Maudit. Under the title Ferdinaud Céline, The Collaborators was published in French in 1997 to great acclaim.[1]

Was a French lawyer, journalist, writer and organizer of motor races. He is mostly remembered today

Was a French lawyer, journalist, writer and organizer of motor races. He is mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Marcel Allain of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas. He was born in Plomelin, a commune in Finistère, Brittany.

Was a French composer. Vachon wrote around thirty string quartets, various chamber works, operas, an

Was a French composer. Vachon wrote around thirty string quartets, various chamber works, operas, and orchestral pieces. He studied the violin with Carlo Chiabrano in Paris and first performed on 24 December 1756, at the Concert Spirituel, playing one of his own compositions. He also performed as first violinist in the orchestra of the Prince of Conti.

Was a Dutch-Canadian-American journalist, writer, and Unitarian minister. He was born in Gorinchem,

Was a Dutch-Canadian-American journalist, writer, and Unitarian minister. He was born in Gorinchem, The Netherlands, then emigrated with his parents to Canada in 1914. After entering a seminary, he served as a missionary to Ruthenian immigrants in the Alberta hinterland, where he helped with medical work. In 1917 he left theological school to serve with the Canadian army in France in World War I as an infantryman and sapper.

Was a French composer of the Renaissance, associated with the Sainte-Chapelle. Twelve of his works h

Was a French composer of the Renaissance, associated with the Sainte-Chapelle. Twelve of his works have survived, including seven motets and five chansons. There were two closely connected composers named Vermont, of whom Pierre was possibly the elder, and a Pernot Vermont (c.1495 – 1558) possibly younger, but not by much. Musicologists have not been able to establish a family relationship, although it seems likely. That Pierre was the elder of the two, even though their conjectured birthdates are similar, is inferred from his appellation (l’aîné, primus, or Vermond seniorem). All of the music assigned simply to 'Vermont' in the sources has been attributed to Pierre rather than Pernot.[1]

Was a French composer of choral and instrumental music. Villette's music is a product of a French mu

Was a French composer of choral and instrumental music. Villette's music is a product of a French musical heritage that includes Fauré and Debussy as well as Poulenc and Messiaen, and a French cultural legacy that includes Catholicism and the Order of Saint Benedict. Villette was not interested in the avant-garde direction taken by Boulez's circle, and instead his music drew on influences as eclectic as Gregorian Chant, medieval music, jazz (he composed an orchestral piece titled Blues), and Stravinsky. His catalogue has eighty-one opus numbers, (full list via this link) and he wrote chamber and orchestral music as well as better-known choral works.

Is a French composer, known for his work in French documentaries. His work included the scores for T

Is a French composer, known for his work in French documentaries. His work included the scores for TV seriesRégis l'éventeur by Georges Combe and TV documentoryLe juste NON by Caroline Buffard. He is now working on English language films, directed by John Jennissen. He won two Best musical awards at Le Creusot film festival for his work on La formation en quatre actes by Olivier Xueref (1992) and L'esprit et la matiere by Arielle Mémery (2000).

Was a French composer, a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a member of the French Académ

Was a French composer, a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts (1813). He is considered alongside André Ernest Modeste Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor to have been the founder of a new musical genre, the opéra comique, laying a path for other French composers such as François-Adrien Boïeldieu, Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet, and Jules Massenet in this genre.

Was a French far right polemicist and journalist. He was the brother of the famous explorer Jacques-

Was a French far right polemicist and journalist. He was the brother of the famous explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He was born in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde, and educated in the United States as well as the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Cousteau served in the military before working as a translator and a meteorologist and for New York's Credit Alliance Corporation.[1] He then became a journalist for left-wing papers such as Regards or Monde and was associated with pacifism and the Anti-Stalinist left.[1]

Was a French flutist and composer of the late Baroque period. Born in Provence, Buffardin was a flut

Was a French flutist and composer of the late Baroque period. Born in Provence, Buffardin was a flute soloist at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden from 1715 to 1749. He was the teacher of flautists Johann Joachim Quantz, Pietro Grassi Florio, and Johann Sebastian Bach's elder brother, Johann Jacob Bach, whom he met in Constantinople sometime before 1712.

Is a composer, an interpreter, a stringed-instrument maker and a French musicologist. As a young boy

Is a composer, an interpreter, a stringed-instrument maker and a French musicologist. As a young boy, Pierre-Jean Croset was introduced to music theory by his mother who taught Literature and was a classical pianist. At the age of seven, he took private piano lessons with professor and composer Paul Pittion in Grenoble for six years. He also began to play the guitar at the age of thirteen. In 1969, he was the guitarist for a jazz group in Lyon.

Was an influential French guitarist, composer and music publisher.[1] His influence helped populariz

Was an influential French guitarist, composer and music publisher.[1] His influence helped popularize the guitar as a salon instrument. Also a guitar teacher, he published a guitar method and was an editor and publisher of several musical journals. His life coincided with the evolution of the guitar from the five-course baroque guitar to its modern six string classical form.[2] He published works for both types of guitar and also composed works for the lyre-guitar which was popular in France in the late 18th century.[3]

Was a French composer and conductor,[1] perhaps best remembered for the much anthologized Ave Maria

Was a French composer and conductor,[1] perhaps best remembered for the much anthologized Ave Maria 'by' Jacques Arcadelt, which he loosely arranged from that composer's three part madrigal Nous voyons que les hommes.[citation needed]

Was a French composer of classical music. He was born in Chasselay, Rhône, near Lyon. He went to Ly

Was a French composer of classical music. He was born in Chasselay, Rhône, near Lyon. He went to Lyon, to Strasbourg (for military service from 1920-2) where he studied with Guy Ropartz[2], and again to Lyon where he was for a time an associate and "disciple" of Florent Schmitt, and a pupil of Georges Martin Witkowski[3]. He then travelled to Paris in 1923, where he later founded with Henry Barraud, Jean Rivier and Emmanuel Bondeville the chamber ensemble Triton in 1932.[2]