Camille Stamaty

Camille Marie Stamaty was a Greco-French pianist, composer and pedagogue, born in Rome in 1811 and dying in Paris in 1870. His significance lies chiefly as a link in the piano school of Kalkbrenner and as a teacher of several musicians who would later achieve renown.

Before devoting himself entirely to music, Stamaty hesitated between that profession and business, and from 1828 he worked at the Prefecture of the Seine. He studied piano with A.-C. Fessy and, around 1830, with Frédéric Kalkbrenner, although a rheumatic ailment obliged him to turn temporarily to composition. His public debut as a pianist took place at the Salle Pleyel on 15 March 1835, with a concert of his own, a set of variations and Kalkbrenner's Grand Duo in D major, performed on two pianos alongside the composer. Critics praised the delicacy of his touch, the evenness of his tone and the independence of his fingers, qualities that firmly placed him in the tradition of his teacher.

In September 1836 he travelled to Leipzig, where he received brief lessons from Mendelssohn, and he returned to Paris in early 1837. From then on he included far more music by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven in his programmes. In 1862 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

His output includes a piano trio, several sonatas, salon pieces and a number of songs. Many of his works show an affinity with eighteenth-century styles, such as the Grande sonate op. 20 or the Sicilienne dans le genre ancien. His interest in early music also found expression in transcriptions of Rameau, Haydn and Mozart for L'école du pianiste classique et moderne, a pedagogical work in five parts published in Paris between 1854 and 1862. As a teacher he followed Kalkbrenner's method, including his device for restricting arm movement, and he trained Gottschalk and Saint-Saëns. His 25 études op. 11 were officially adopted by the Conservatoire, although Saint-Saëns remarked that he insisted excessively on legato and on a continuous espressivo.