In 1896, Jules Massenet stopped teaching composition.
 At that time the academy was dominated by painters rather than musicians; Massenet enjoyed his time there, and made lifelong friendships with, among others, the sculptor Alexandre Falguire and the painter Carolus-Duran, but the musical benefit he derived was largely self-taught
Like many prominent French composers of the period, Massenet became a professor at the Conservatoire

