Chaminade, Cecile (1857-1944), was a French composer and pianist. Her music is generally simple and light. It makes few demands on the listener’s intellect but has much elegance and charm. Most of her best works are pieces for piano, including more than 200 pieces for solo piano and 2 piano trios. She also composed songs and a few large-scale works for orchestra. These large-scale works are rarely performed today. Chaminade wrote two works for the stage, a ballet called Callirhoe (1888), and an opera that was never staged.
Cecile Louise Stephanie Chaminade was born on Aug. 8, 1857, in Paris. She wrote pieces of church music at the age of 8 and made her first concert appearance at the age of 18. She appeared in concerts throughout Europe, especially in England, where she was a regular performer after her first concert there in 1892. She died on April 13, 1944.
