Paul Bonneau (1918-1995) was considered by all his contemporaries to be the leading composer of French light symphonic music: he collaborated on fifty full-length films in addition to numerous shorts as either composer or orchestrator and composed scores for ballets and operettas. He wrote a number of pieces for saxophone which are still regarded around the world as standard reference works. His Caprice en forme de valse for solo saxophone (1948) was soon to enjoy international renown; virtuosity is at the heart of this fantasia, which is much more a concert work than a simple etude.