The Sorcerer's Apprentice (French: L'Apprenti sorcier) is a symphonic poem by the French composer Paul Dukas, completed in 1897. Subtitled "Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe", the piece was based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem named "Der Zauberlehrling". By far the most performed and recorded of Dukas' 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. The score was first published in 1897 by A. Durand & Fils. The premiere was given in Paris on May 18, 1897 by the Societe Nationale de Musique with the composer himself conducting.

La Péri (English: The Peri) is a 1912 ballet in one act by French composer Paul Dukas, originally choreographed by Ivan Clustine and first performed in Paris, about Iskender (the name of Alexander the Great in Persian) searching for immortality and his encounter with a mythological Peri. It was premiered on April 22, 1912.

Paul Abraham Dukas (French: [dykɑ(ː)s] 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical and abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'apprenti sorcier), the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works, largely due to its usage in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. Among these are the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, his Symphony in C and Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau (for solo piano), and a ballet, La Péri. At a time when French musicians were divided into conservative and progressive factions, Dukas adhered to neither but retained the admiration of both. His compositions were influenced by composers including Beethoven, Berlioz, Franck, d'Indy and Debussy. In tandem with his composing career, Dukas worked as a music critic, contributing regular reviews to at least five French journals. Later in his life he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École normale de musique de Paris; his pupils included Maurice Duruflé, Olivier Messiaen, Walter Piston, Manuel Ponce, Joaquín Rodrigo and Xian Xinghai.

The Symphony in C is a symphony by the French composer Paul Dukas, dedicated to his fellow musician Paul Vidal. The symphony was written between 1894 and 1896 and was performed when the composer was aged 30 in the Concerts de l'Opéra on 3 January 1897, conducted by Vidal. It is written for a standard orchestra comprising three flutes (the third doubling piccolo), two oboes (the first doubling cor anglais), two clarinets in B-flat and A, two bassoons, four French horns in F (third and fourth also in E), two trumpets in F, piccolo trumpet in D, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. Like César Franck's only symphony, Dukas' is in three movements rather than the conventional four: Allegro non troppo vivace, ma con fuoco, C major, 6/8 Andante espressivo e sostenuto, 4/8, E minor, C major, B major, E minor Finale. Allegro spiritoso, C major, 3/4 = 9/8 The first movement is a modified sonata form allegro with three themes. The second movement is also in sonata form, but only with two themes. The finale is an ABACA rondo. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians says of the Symphony that "passing references to influences (Franck, Chausson, d’Indy, Bizet, Lalo, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven or, in the slow movement, Schumann) have little bearing on the symphony's development or character". The opening movement uses a modified sonata form with what Grove describes as "a development-like coda". The second movement contains melodic material and orchestral colours that anticipate The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The symphony has been described as a "charming and colorful work."

Paul Abraham Dukas (French: [dykɑ(ː)s] 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical and abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'apprenti sorcier), the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works, largely due to its usage in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. Among these are the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, his Symphony in C and Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau (for solo piano), and a ballet, La Péri. At a time when French musicians were divided into conservative and progressive factions, Dukas adhered to neither but retained the admiration of both. His compositions were influenced by composers including Beethoven, Berlioz, Franck, d'Indy and Debussy. In tandem with his composing career, Dukas worked as a music critic, contributing regular reviews to at least five French journals. Later in his life he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École normale de musique de Paris; his pupils included Maurice Duruflé, Olivier Messiaen, Walter Piston, Manuel Ponce, Joaquín Rodrigo and Xian Xinghai.