Ibert was a renowned French composer who was also a singer accompanist, cinema pianist, and educator. He came in contact with the composers' group Les Six during his studies with Gédalge and Fauré but was never a member due to his military service in World War I and winning the Prix de Rome first prize. From 1937, Ibert served as the director of Villa Medici in Rome. However, in 1940, Vichy regime rejected his music, and he had to go into exile during World War II before returning to Paris. He was the President of the Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux from 1955-1956 and became a member of the Institut de France in 1956. Despite his unconventional methods, Ibert's elegant and clear style, which reflects late Romantic and impressionistic features, is a continuation of the French tradition pioneered by Rameau and Debussy. Ibert created his style by combining irony and tenderness, lyricism and comedy. He produced operas, ballets, theatrical, cinematic, and radio works, as well as vocal and instrumental pieces. He admired both Wagner and Schoenberg and introduced new elements in musique concrète. His composition of Don Quichotte exemplified this with sound effects, such as the grinding of the windmill sail and the sound of war, in orchestral form.
