Schneitzhoeffer, Jean

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Schneitzhoeffer, Jean

Schneitzhoeffer, Jean, French composer; b. Toulouse, Oct. 13, 1785; d. Paris, Oct. 4, 1852. He studied with Catel at the Paris Cons. After serving as timpanist at the Paris Opéra (1815–23), he was appointed chef du chant there; from 1831 to 1850 he was in charge of choral classes at the Paris Cons. He composed several ballet scores for the Paris Opéra, of which La Sylphide (1832), which he wrote for the famous dancer Maria Taglioni, became a perennial favorite. His other ballets are Proserpine (1818), Zémire et Azor (1824), and Mars et Venus. He also composed several concert overtures and a Requiem.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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Schneitzhoeffer, Jean

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