Louis Vierne was born in Poitiers, France in 1870. He followed Cesar Franck and Charles Marie Widor as the foremost organ composer of France, especially on the newer "symphonic" organs. Some of Vierne's students gained as much or more fame than did he. Among them were Marcel Dupre, Joseph Bonnet, Nadia Boulanger, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Durufle, Gaston Litaize and Jean Langlais. He suffered a massive stroke and died on the organ bench during a 1937 concert.