Eugène Louis Demets (6 April 1858 – 25 April 1923) was one of the most prestigious music publishers in early 20th-century Paris.

Life

Demets was born in

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

, west of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Originally an orchestral musician, Demets set up his music publishing house in Paris in 1899, first in 20, rue des Marais, and from 1903 in 2, rue de Louvois. He was not able to join SACEM, the French publishers association, before 24 April 1901, because he had apparently several times issued defamatory remarks towards that association. Only after he had formally apologised, he was admitted.Anik Devriès &

François Lesure François Lesure (23 May 1923 in Paris – 21 June 2001) was a French librarian and musicologist. Biography François Lesure studied at the Sorbonne, the École nationale des chartes (graduated in 1950), the École pratique des hautes études ...

: ''Dictionnaire des éditeurs de musique français'', vol. 2: ''De 1820 à 1914'' (Geneva: Minkoff, 1988), p. 139–140. In addition to his publishing activities, he also operated an "Agence musicale", an agency organising concerts, mainly for the purpose of bringing his publications to the public. Within a short period of time, Demets was able to enlist a number of well known modern composers for his catalogue, including

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

, and Joaquin Turina, as well as a number of lesser known, yet original composers such as

Paul Bazelaire Paul Bazelaire (4 March 1886 – 11 December 1958) was a French cellist and composer. Bazelaire was born in Sedan, Ardennes. He studied under Jules Delsart Jules Delsart (24 November 1844 – 3 July 1900)MacGregor, "Jules Delsart"Grove Music ...

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 ...

Jean Cras Jean Émile Paul Cras (; 22 May 1879 – 14 September 1932) was a 20th-century French composer and career naval officer. His musical compositions were inspired by his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and most of all, by his sea v ...

Swan Hennessy Edward Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. In his pre-War piano music, he excelled as a miniaturist in descriptive, programmatic music. After joining ...

Paul Ladmirault Paul Émile Ladmirault (8 December 1877 – 30 October 1944) was a French language, French composer and Music criticism, music critic whose music expressed his devotion to Brittany. Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a "fine dreamy musi ...

, and Rhené-Baton. In 1920, he was also the original publisher of the "Album des 6" of the group of composers called

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

. Alongside Durand, Leduc and Sénart, Demets was regarded as one of the most prestigious French music publishers of his day. After Demets' death in Paris at age 65, his catalogue was taken over and successfully expanded by

Max Eschig Max Eschig (27 May 1872 – 3 September 1927) was a Czech-born French music publisher who published many of the leading French composers of the twentieth century, later also including many East European and Latin American composers. Life Eschig wa ...

Selected publications

*Maurice Ravel: ''

Pavane pour une infante défunte ''Pavane pour une infante défunte'' (''Pavane for a Dead Princess'') is a work for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, written in 1899 while the French composer was studying at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Ravel published an orchest ...

'' (1900) *Maurice Ravel: ''

Jeux d'eau ''Jeux d'eau'' (Italian ''giochi d'acqua'') or "water games", is an umbrella term in the history of gardens for the water features that were introduced into mid-16th century Mannerist Italian gardens. History Pools and fountains had been a f ...

'' (1902) *Maurice Ravel: ''

Miroirs upRavel in 1907 ''Miroirs'' (French for "Mirrors") is a five-movement suite for solo piano written by French composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905."Miroirs". Maurice Ravel Frontispice. First performed by Ricardo Viñes in 1906, ''Miroir ...

'' (1906) *Erik Satie: ''

Préludes flasques (pour un chien) The ''Préludes flasques (pour un chien)'' – ''Flabby Preludes (For a Dog)'' – is a set of four piano pieces composed in July 1912 by Erik Satie. In performance it lasts about 5 minutes. The work demonstrates Satie's attempts to reconcile the ...

'' n English: "Flabby Preludes (for a Dog) (1912) *Erik Satie: ''

Descriptions automatiques The ''Descriptions automatiques'' (''Automatic Descriptions'') is a 1913 piano composition by Erik Satie. The second of his humoristic keyboard suites (1912-1915), it set the tone for the rest of the series by introducing elements of musical paro ...

'' (1913) *Erik Satie: ''

Nocturnes A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

'' (1920) *Joaquín Turina: ''Sevilla'', Op. 2 (1908) *Joaquín Turina: ''Sonate romantique (Sonata romantica)'', Op. 3 (1909) *Joaquín Turina: ''Coins de Seville (Rincones sevillanos)'', Op. 5 (1911) *Auric/Durey/Honegger/Milhaud/Poulenc/Tailleferre: ''Album des 6'' (1920)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demets, Eugene 1858 births 1923 deaths 20th-century French businesspeople French music publishers (people) Music publishers (people)