Cécile Chaminade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cécile Chaminade
Portrait of Cécile Chaminade
Born	(1857-08-08)8 August 1857 Paris, France
Died	13 April 1944(1944-04-13) (aged 86) Monte Carlo
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Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (born August 8, 1857 – died April 13, 1944) was a famous French composer and pianist. She made history in 1913 when she received the Légion d'Honneur. This was a very important award, and she was the first female composer ever to get it! A famous composer named Ambroise Thomas once said about her, "This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who is a woman." This meant he saw her as a great composer, not just a great woman composer.

About Cécile Chaminade's Life

Cécile Chaminade was born in Paris, France. She grew up in a family that loved music. Her first piano lessons were from her own mother. When she was about 10 years old, a teacher from the Conservatoire de Paris, Félix Le Couppey, met her. He thought she was very talented and suggested she study at the Conservatoire.

However, her father did not agree. He felt it was not proper for a girl from their social class to study at a public music school. But he still allowed Cécile to learn privately. She had lessons with teachers from the Conservatoire. She studied piano with Le Couppey, violin with Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard and Martin Pierre Marsick, and music composition with Benjamin Godard.

Cécile Chaminade sketched in St. Louis in 1908

Even as a young child, Cécile loved to create her own music. She would compose little pieces for her pets and dolls! In 1869, she played some of her music for the famous composer Georges Bizet. He was very impressed by her skills.

In 1878, Cécile performed a special concert at home, arranged by her teacher Le Couppey. Every piece she played was one she had composed herself. This concert was the start of her career as a composer. From then on, she often performed only her own music. One of her most important pieces is the Concertino, Op. 107, which is very popular for the flute.

Cécile toured France many times when she was younger. In 1892, she performed in England for the first time. Her music became very popular there. Isidor Philipp, who led the piano department at the Conservatoire de Paris, also helped make her music known. She visited England often in the 1890s, playing her new songs with singers like Blanche Marchesi. However, after 1899, she toured less because of some less positive reviews.

In 1901, Cécile married Louis-Mathieu Carbonel, a music publisher. He was much older than her. They decided to live separately, with him in Marseille and her near Paris. Cécile never remarried after he passed away in 1907.

In 1908, Cécile Chaminade toured the United States. She performed concerts in twelve different cities. Americans loved her music! Songs like the Scarf Dance and Ballet No. 1 were very popular. Many people who loved piano music had her pieces in their homes. She also wrote a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra, and ballet music for a show called Callirhoé. Her songs, such as The Silver Ring, were also big hits.

As mentioned before, in 1913, she became a Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of the Legion of Honour. This was a huge honor and a first for a female composer. In 1901, she even made some of the first gramophone recordings of her music in London. These recordings are now very rare and special. She also recorded many piano rolls before and after World War I. As she got older, she composed less. Cécile Chaminade passed away in Monte Carlo on April 13, 1944. She is now buried in Passy Cemetery in Paris.

For a long time after her death, Cécile Chaminade's piano pieces and songs were not played very often. But her Flute Concertino in D major, Op. 107, which she wrote for a competition in 1902, is still very popular today.

Cécile's sister married Moritz Moszkowski, who was also a well-known composer and pianist.

Cécile Chaminade's Music Style

Cécile Chaminade's music style was similar to other French composers like Camille Saint-Saëns. Her music stayed true to the Romantic style and French traditions throughout her career. People describe her music as having beautiful tunes, being easy to listen to, and having a slightly unique sound. Cécile herself said, "I am essentially of the Romantic school, as all my work shows."

Important Musical Works

Lolita (Caprice espagnol) Op. 54

Opera

• Op. 19 La Sévillane, comic opera (1882)

Orchestral Music

• Op. 20 Suite d'Orchestre (1881)
• Op. 26 Symphonie Dramatique Les Amazones" (1884)
• Op. 37 Callirhoë, ballet symphonique (1888)
• Op. 40 Konzertstück in C-sharp minor for piano and orchestra (1888)
• Op. 107 Concertino for flute and orchestra in D major (1902)

Piano Music

• Op. 21 Piano Sonata in C minor (1893)
• Op. 35 Six Études de Concert (Enoch) (1886)
• Op. 54 Lolita. Caprice espagnol (Enoch) 1890
• Op. 89 Thème varié (1898)
• Op. 120 Variations sur un thème original (1906)
• Op. 117 Duo Symphonique for 2 pianos (1905)
• Op. 123 Album des enfants, première série (1906)
• Op. 126 Album des enfants, deuxième série (1907)

Piano Duets

• Op. 55 Six Pièces Romantiques, Op. 55 (1890)

Two Pianos Four Hands

• Op. 19 La Sevillane
• Op. 36 Deux Pièces for 2 Pianos,
• Op. 59 Andante et Scherzettino
• Op. 73 Valse Carnavalesque (1894)
• Op.117 Duo Symphonique
• WU 19 Marche Hongroise (1880), unpublished

Chamber Music

• Op. 11 Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor (1880)
• Op. 34 Piano Trio No. 2 in A minor (1886)
• Op. 142 Sérénade aux étoiles for Flute and Piano (1911?)

Songs

See also

In Spanish: Cécile Chaminade para niños