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Known for his commitment to the Vichy government, the pianist Alfred Cortot had previously actively participated in the war effort between 1914 and 1918. From 1914, he mobilized French musicians in the conflict by creating works to assist artists deprived of resources because of the interruption to performances. However, he is mostly remembered as the founder of show companies such as the National Matinees or the Theater for the Armies, which enabled the ideology of wartime France to be circulated through music. His activities then fell within the state framework, as he ran, from 1916 to 1918, a propaganda service within the Fine Arts administration; and organized the tours of many artists in neutral and allied countries, making him the pioneer of artistic activity abroad. Cortot thus provides an example of total and multifaceted involvement in the conflict and demonstrates his constant desire to use music as a means of political and social action.