Schmitz, Elie Robert

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Schmitz, Elie Robert

Schmitz, Elie Robert, eminent French pianist and pedagogue; b. Paris, Feb. 8, 1889; d. San Francisco, Sept. 5, 1949. He studied at the Paris Cons. with Diémer, winning the premier prix. In 1908 he toured as accompanist of Slezak, Emma Eames, and other celebrated singers. In 1912 he organized in Paris the Assn. des Concerts Schmitz, which he led until 1914. In 1919 he toured the U.S. as a pianist; in 1920 he founded the Franco- American Music Soc. in N.Y. (incorporated in 1923 as Pro Musica), of which he was president from its inception; toured again in the U.S. and Europe (1921–29), and in the Orient (1929–30; 1932–33); eventually settled in San Francisco as a teacher. He pubi, a book on his system of piano study, The Capture of Inspiration (N.Y., 1935; second ed., 1944), and a valuable technical analysis with commentary, The Piano Works of Claude Debussy (N.Y., 1950).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire