Description

E. ROBERT SCHMITZ (PARIS, FRANCE, FEBRUARY 8, 1889 – SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER 5, 1949)

He studied with Louis-Joseph Diémer at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won First Prize in Piano. He caught the attention of Camille Saint-Saëns and Vincent D’Indy while directing the Association Musicale Moderne et Artistique (later renamed L’Association de Concerts Schmitz), which gave the world premiere of Debussy’s Première rhapsodie, Roussel’s Evocations, Le Flem’s Crépuscules d’amour, and Milhaud’s Suite Symphonique. Schmitz lead the Association from 1912 until 1914. Schmitz toured the United States in 1919, and the following year, founded the Franco-American Music Society in New York. The Society incorporated as Pro Musica in 1923. Schmitz published a system of piano study, The Capture of Inspiration, in 1935. His book, The Piano works of Claude Debussy, a technical analysis with commentary, was published after his death, in 1950. Among his notable pupils was the composer Samuel Dolin.

TRACKLIST

Baigneuses au soleil (Souvenir de Banyuls-sur-Mer) (Severac) Duo-Art 6581

Carnaval, Op. 9 Nos. 12 through 20 (Schumann) Duo-Art 6282

Carnaval, Op. 9 Nos. l – 11 (Schumann) Duo-Art 6264

Children’s Corner (Debussy) Colliwog’s Cakewalk Duo-Art 66621

Estampes, No. 2 La soirée dans Grénade (Evening in Granada) (Debussy) Duo-Art 6215

Etude ‘Aeolian Harp’ Op. 25 No. 1 (Chopin) Duo-Art 69521H

Prélude à L’Après-Midi d’un Faune (Afternoon of a Faun) (Debussy) Duo-Art 6532

Valse de Concert, Op. 3 (Wieniawski) Duo-Art 6473