Koechlin was born in Paris, the youngest child of a large and rich family. His mother’s family came from the Alsace near the French border with Germany, and he was proud of his Alsatian background. His grandfather on his mother’s side had started a cotton textile firm in Mulhouse and his father worked in the textile business. When Koechlin was 14 his father died. He showed an interest in music, but his family wanted him to be an artillery officer. However, he had tuberculosis and had to spent six months getting better in Algeria. After finishing his schooling he was allowed to enter the Paris Conservatoire in 1890. Two years later he was studying composition with Massenet, and in 1896 he was a pupil of Gabriel Fauré. Ravel was a pupil in the same class. Fauré had a big influence on Koechlin who wrote a book about him and helped him to arrange some of his music for orchestra.