ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the notion that Darius Milhaud and Les Six ignored the important issues of the day. Maurice Ravel's enthusiastic approval of Milhaud belies the considerable tensions that existed between their generations; these tensions were reflected in the sometimes bitter attacks in the press, which were often specifically directed at Milhaud. The chapter considers why Milhaud was often singled out for attack by Emile Vuillermoz and other critics; it looks at the role of Les Six in launching Milhaud in Paris and in shaping his aesthetic ideas. It traces Milhaud's emerging independence from the constraints of the group identity. Milhaud's association with Les Six has often been presented as accidental and artistically insignificant. Les Six challenged the preoccupation with Claude Debussy and the immediate past. In Roland-Manuel's view, Vuillermoz objected to Les Six's failure to live up to the publicity and hype created by Cocteau.
