Émile Desportes

Who was Émile Desportes?

Émile Desportes was a French composer, conductor, painter, inventor and explorer. His daughter was the composer Yvonne Desportes.

Desportes was originally a lawyer at Caen, then professor of music and conductor. He studied composition with Paul Dukas, but soon became more interested in other activities.

After the Second World War, Desportes became rich from his inventions. He also painted, in a style influenced by Henri Rousseau, and even made a short film of Rousseau's life. In the 1950s Desportes embarked on an expedition to the Amazon basin, partly to study the music of the Amazonian tribes.