Dukas studied piano, harmony and composition at the Paris Conservatory. He later taught there himself. His students included Jehan Alain, Maurice Duruflé, and Olivier Messiaen. In addition, Dukas had been active as a music critic since 1892, writing, among other things, about Debussy's ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' and ''Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen'' which was performed in London under the direction of Gustav Mahler. Regarding his own work, Dukas repeatedly spoke out against accusations of imitating Wagner's style.
Dukas always maintained contacts with other famous composers such as Claude Debussy. Contemporaries describe him as a man of high general education. His tendency to self-criticism led him to abandon a whole series of composed works after they had begun and finally to destroy some altogether because they did not meet his standards. The same character trait was later displayed by his pupil Duruflé.
Dukas achieved great fame with his setting of the ballad ''Der Zauberlehrling'' (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The orchestral scherzo is often heard in concert halls. The piece became even more popular through its use in Walt Disney's animated film ''Fantasia''. Nevertheless, the 1907 opera ''Ariane et Barbe-Bleue**, based on the fairy tale of Duke Bluebeard, and the ballet ''La Péri'' (1911) are Dukas's most significant works. The opera is written in a contemporary modern tonal language that is very subtle and of far deeper emotional significance than one might infer from the title. Dukas also made works by old masters accessible by preparing appropriate editions. His Rameau arrangements are one example. Collected reviews, ''Les écrits sur la musique'' appeared from his estate.
In 1934, Paul Dukas was elected to the ''Académie des Beaux Arts'' as Alfred Bruneau's successor.
