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Born: October 14, 1859 - Paris, France
Died: May 30, 1923 - Chatou, Seine-et-Oise, France |
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Paul Alexandre Camille Chevillard was one of the most prominent of French orchestral conductors as well as an earnest composer. His father was the distinguished French violoncellist, Pierre Alexandre Chevillard, Camille was at first a pianoforte pupil of the Conservatoire (2nd prize); and afterwards followed his own instincts as a composer, without definite teach9ing.
Camille Chevillard's works are remarkable for a style at once personal, solid and refined. They include a trio, quartet and quintet for piano and strings; a string quartet; a very remarkable sonata for violin and piano; a sonata for violoncello and piano; smaller violin and violoncello pieces; a set of variations and an Etude chromatique for piano; a Ballade symphonique; a symphonic poem, Le chène et le roseau; and a Fantaisie symphonique; as well as songs. He left in MS his music to E. Schuré's drama La Rousalka, played with the performance of the Drama in Paris on March 23, 1903.
Camille Chevillard founded in 1895 a trio called Trio Chevillard-Hayot-Salmon. In 1887 he assisted to Charles Lamoureux in the first presentation of Lohengrin in Paris, and was the substitute in 1897-1899, and on many other occasions. On the death of Lamoureux, Chevillard directed the concerts given under his name. Chevillard soon earned a high reputation as a conductor of the classics, especially L.v. Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner and Franz Liszt. He led the Lamoureux Orchestra in the premieres of Debussy's Nocturnes (1900 & 1901) and La mer (1905). Rolland (Musiciens d'aujourd'hui) gives him the credit of having the first drawn the attention of the Paris public to Russian music, while the complains of Chevillard's lack of sympathy with the native modern school. His manner of conducting was strong, precise and careful, with more communicative warmth of that of his predecessor. Madame Chevillard, a daughter of Lamoureux, translated Weingartner's pamphlet on the symphony since L.v. Beethoven. |
