Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (27 March 1851 – 2 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. D'Indy was born in Paris into a military family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age but, to please his family, studied law. However, he decided to be a musician. He became a devoted student of César Franck at the Conservatoire de Paris. As a follower of Franck, d'Indy came to admire what he considered the standards of German symphonism.