Camille Léo Ernest Decreus (sometimes spelt as "Camille DeCreus" or "Camille de Creus") (23 September 1876 – 26 September 1939) was a French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Biography

Decreus was born in Paris and studied with

Raoul Pugno Stéphane Raoul Pugno (23 June 1852) was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing of Mozart's works. Biography Raoul Pugno was born in Paris and was of Italian origin. He made his debut at the age of six, and with t ...

at the Paris Conservatory. He married the talented violinist

Renée Chemet Renée Chemet (January 9, 1887 – January 2, 1977) was a French violinist. Early life Renée Henriette Joséphine Chemet was born in Boulogne-sur-Seine. She studied with Henri Berthelier at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating in 1902.E. W ...

on 20 May 1906. This year also marked his solo debut. Since then, he was mainly known as a piano accompanist for other musicians in Europe and America, including his wife and the violinist

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

. Decreus became Director of the

American Conservatory in Fontainebleau The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the United States entered First World War the commander of its American Exp ...

in or before 1924. During the years at the American Conservatory, many musicians have benefitted from his teaching, including Jane Pickens Hoving, Jane Hobson,

Ulvi Cemal Erkin Ulvi Cemal Erkin () (March 14, 1906 – September 15, 1972) was a member of the pioneer group of symphonic composers in Turkey, born in the period 1904–1910, who later came to be called The Turkish Five. These composers set out the direction of ...

, Humberto Viscarra Monje, Evangeline Marie Lehman and others.

Musical works

As a composer, Decreus is today forgotten. Only about ten short vocal pieces with piano accompaniment or piano solo pieces are attributed as Decreus's compositions. No recordings for any of Decreus's work exist, although information about live performance of his work can be found. A number of composers dedicated works to Decreus, including: * Godowsky's concert transcription of Chopin's Waltz Op. 69 No. 1, * ''Le Moustique'', Op. 66 by

Mel Bonis Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

cover image of .

References

External links

* 1876 births 1939 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French people 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century French people Composers for piano French male classical composers French music educators French Romantic composers {{composer-stub