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Topic: Cécile Chaminade: most underrated piano composer?  (Read 21 times)

Offline liszt-and-the-galops

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I've recently been listening to a lot of stuff by her, and (at least so far) she's in my top 3 favorite composers -- behind only Alkan and Liszt. Many of her works were well-received by critics.
A few of my favorites by her:
Op. 37 no. 3 Scarf Dance


Op. 21 Sonata in C Minor


Op. 35 6 Études de concert (particularly no. 2 "Automne" and no. 5 "Impromptu")


Op. 39 Toccata


Op. 60 Les Sylvains


I recently checked to see if PS had any of her music, but searching her name turned up only 45 results (42 of which on the forum, seemingly zero sheet music). The only piece by her that seems to be remotely well known is a theme and variations piece played by Hamelin:

It's definitely a great piece, but IMO still not Chaminade's best.

What are your thoughts her music? Have any of you heard of her before? Do you know of any other similarly under-appreciated composers?
Amateur pianist, beginning composer, creator of the Musical Madness tournament (2024-25).
https://www.youtube.com/@Liszt-and-the-Galops
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