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France has made a huge contribution to the development of classical music. Read on as we run through the greatest French composers, from Couperin and Rameau right through to Messiaen and Boulez.<\/strong><\/p> If the music is immediately appealing, and uses instrumental colour sensitively in an atmospheric or painterly (rather than expressive) manner, the chances are you are hearing a piece by a French composer. They will rarely attempt to storm the heavens in the manner of Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> or Mahler (Berlioz is an obvious exception). Indeed, if any French musician shows an interest in the Austro-German tradition, they tend to prefer the pre-Romantics, particularly the suave and understated expressiveness of Mozart<\/a><\/strong>, and the playfulness and wit of his colleague Haydn.<\/p> Yet a good century before those two composers appeared, French music was the most prestigious in Europe, adorning the court of Louis XIV<\/a><\/strong>, the so-called \u2018Sun King\u2019, who came to the throne aged four in 1643, and reigned until his death in 1715 (making him to date the longest reigning monarch in history). <\/p> It was at Louis XIV\u2019s behest that the palace and gardens of Versailles were built: there, an Italian composer Jean-Baptiste Lully<\/a><\/strong> reigned over all Royal Opera productions and jealously guarded his privileges. We will start with the great, unambiguously French composers who were contemporaries of Lully\u2019s, who managed to survive even under his shadow. <\/p>