Louis Diémer

Louis-Joseph Diémer (Paris, 1843 – Paris, 1919) was one of the most distinguished French pianists of his generation, as well as a composer and pedagogue. His family was of Alsatian origin, and he spent almost his entire life in the French capital, where he trained and where he pursued much of his career.

He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1853 and won prizes in solfège, piano, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, as well as a second prize in organ. His teachers were Marmontel for piano, Ambroise Thomas for composition and François Benoist for organ. Financial difficulties prevented him from competing for the Prix de Rome. From 1861 he gave private lessons and, from 1863, he performed regularly in Paris and in the provinces, attended the soirées of Rossini, took part in chamber concerts organised by Alard and travelled with Sarasate. His popularity with audiences earned him a reputation as a virtuoso.

In 1887 he succeeded Marmontel at the Conservatoire, where he exerted a notable influence on the next generation of French pianists; among his pupils were Cortot, Risler and Robert Casadesus. The success of a series of harpsichord recitals at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 led him, together with van Waefelghem, Grillet and Delsart, to found the Société des Instruments Anciens, and to devote much of his time to early music. In 1902 he established a fund for a triennial competition for male pianists, endowed with 4,000 francs. He continued teaching and performing in public until his death, and he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1889.

His legacy rests above all on his pianism, which was characterised by precision and purity, qualities evident in his recordings from around 1904, such as the Grande valse de concert op. 37 and a Chopin Nocturne op. 27 no. 2. His compositions, written mainly for piano, were described by Fétis as elegant but solid, and some of his songs enjoyed considerable success. He edited piano music, transcribed symphonic movements and operatic excerpts, and published a piano method together with L. Lévy and V. Staub.