Ernst (German and Dutch form of Ernest) may refer to:

Pierre Gabaye (1930-) is a French composer.

His musical tuition began at age seven on the piano, and which led him to pursue a career as a pianist and composer in both the classical and jazz spheres. He studied the piano with Simone Plé-Caussade at the Conservatoire de Paris. He won the 1956 Prix de Rome, and was later appointed Director of Light Music at Radio France. He retired in 1986 and moved to Chamonix.

Gabaye's compositional style can be described as a late exemplar of the French neo-classical tradition, in the mould of Poulenc and Saint-Saëns. A lot of his music is light-hearted, and written for brass and wind instruments.

Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. He continued studying piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1925 Anderson entered Harvard University, where he studied theory with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, harmony with George Enescu, composition with Walter Piston and double bass with Gaston Dufresne.^{[citation needed]} He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929 and Master of Arts in 1930.

Anderson continued studying at Harvard, working towards a PhD in German and Scandinavian languages. (Anderson spoke English and Swedish during his youth but he eventually became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese.) During this time he was also working as organist and choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, and conducting and arranging for dance bands around Boston. His arranging work came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler in 1936 and Anderson was asked to show Fiedler any original compositions. Anderson's first work was Jazz Pizzicato in 1938. Fiedler suggested that a companion piece be written and thus Anderson wrote Jazz Legato in 1938.