In 1908, as well as performing piano duets in public concerts, Boulanger and Pugno collaborated on composing a song cycle, "Les Heures claires", which was well-received enough to encourage them to continue working together. Still hoping for a Grand Prix de Rome, Boulanger entered the 1909 competition but failed to win a place in the final round. Later that year, her sister Lili, then sixteen, announced to the family her intention to become a composer and win the Prix de Rome herself.