Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher, most notable for his ten organ symphonies, of the mid-Romantic era. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the best known and most often performed work for organ.
As of 2022, he is the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years (January 1870– 31st December, 1933). He also was organ professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1890 to 1896 (following César Franck) and then he became professor of composition at the same institution, following Théodore Dubois.
Widor was a prolific composer, writing music for organ, piano, voice and ensembles. Apart from his ten organ symphonies, he also wrote three symphonies for orchestra and organ, several songs for piano and voice, four operas and a ballet. He was one of the firsts to use the term "symphony" for some of his organ compositions, helped in this by the organs built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.