Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (8 August 1857 – 13 April 1944)
French composer and pianist.
In 1913, she was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, a first for a female composer. Ambroise Thomas said, "This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who is a woman."
Born in Paris, she studied at first with her mother, then with other teachers including Benjamin Godard.
She toured France several times in those earlier days, and in 1892 made her debut in England where her work was extremely popular.
She repeatedly returned to England during the 1890s and made premieres there with singers such as Blanche Marchesi and Pol Plançon.
In 1908 she visited the United States, where she was accorded a hearty welcome. Her compositions were tremendous favorites with the American public, and such pieces as the Scarf Dance or the Ballet No. 1 were to be found in the music libraries of many lovers of piano music of the time.
In London in November 1901, she made gramophone recordings of seven of her compositions.
Before and after World War I, Chaminade recorded many piano rolls, but as she grew older, she composed less and less, dying in Monte Carlo on 13 April 1944.
Her only other work for organ is
Op. 78 Prélude for organ (Enoch) 1895
List of compositions up to opus 171.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Cécile_Chaminade
Music below with thanks to John Henderson.
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