Philippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute. Gaubert was born in Cahors in Southwest France. He became one of the most prominent French musicians between the two World Wars. After a prominent career as a flautist with the Paris Opéra, he was appointed in 1919, at the age of forty, to three positions that placed him at the very center of French musical life: Professor of flute at the Conservatoire de Paris (professor of Marcel Moyse), Principal conductor of the Paris Opéra Principal conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire.