The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas) " The Sorcerer's Apprentice (French: "L'apprenti sorcier") is a symphonic poem in the key of F minor by the French composer Paul Dukas, written in 1897. Subtitled "Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe", the piece was based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem of the same name. By far the most performed and recorded of Dukas's works, its notable appearance in the Walt Disney 1940 animated film "Fantasia" has led to the piece becoming widely known to audiences outside the classical concert hall. Inspired by the Goethe poem, Dukas's work is part of the larger
The Sorcerer modern audience why a baronet cannot marry a pew-opener, while in the Victorian era it was self-evident. Also, the humour in the piece relies in many instances on parodies of operatic conventions that may be unfamiliar to some audiences. In 1913, E. J. Dent wrote in reference to "The Sorcerer": "It seems as if a course of Mozart in English might be the best preliminary step towards educating our on-coming public to a really intelligent appreciation of Sullivan". Gilbert scholar Andrew Crowther argues that while both "The Sorcerer" and "H.M.S. Pinafore" satirise the idea of love levelling all ranks, the