JONAS, ÉMILE:
French musician; born at Paris March 5, 1827. He entered the Conservatoire in 1841, where he took the first prize in harmony in 1847 and the Grand Prix de Rome in 1848. Two overtures by him were played in the Conservatoire in 1851 and 1852 respectively.He later devoted himselfprincipally to the composition of comic operettas in the style of Offenbach's, his principal productions being: "Le Duel de Benjamin" (Bouffes Parisiens, 1855); "La Parade" (1856); "Le Roi Boit" and "Les Petits Prodiges" (1857); "Job et Son Chien" (1863); "Avant la Noce" (1865); "Deux Arlequins" (1865); "Le Canard à Trois Becs" (1869); "Javotte" (1871; afterward given in London as "Cinderella"); "Le Premier Baiser" (1883).
From 1847 to 1866 Jonas was professor of solfeggio at the Conservatoire, where he also conducted a class in harmony for students of military music. He was musical director at the Portuguese synagogue of Paris, and has published a work entitled "Recueil de Chants Hebraïques" (1854).
- Baker, Biog. Dict. of Musicians, s.v.
