A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Stamaty, Camille
STAMATY, Camille Marie, son of a Greek father and a very musical French mother, was born at Rome, March 23, 1811. After the death of his father in 1818 his mother returned to France, remained some time at Dijon, and finally went to Paris. There, after long coquetting between music and business as a profession, Stamaty, in 1828, took an employés post in the Prefecture of the Seine. But music retained its influence on him, and under Fessy and Kalkbrenner he became a remarkable player. An attack of rheumatism forced him from playing to the study of composition. In March 1835 he made his first public appearance in a concert, the programme of which contained a concerto and other pieces of his composition. This led to his being much sought after as a teacher. But he was not satisfied, and in Sept. 1836 went to Leipzig, attracted doubtless by the fame of Mendelssohn and Schumann, then both resident there (Mendelssohn Family, ii. 20). After a short course of instruction from Mendelssohn, he returned to Paris early in 1837, and introduced much more classical music—Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.—into his programmes. In 1846 he lost his mother, in 1848 he married, in 1862 was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and on April 19, 1870, closed a long career of usefulness and enthusiasm. From a crowd of pupils it is sufficient to name Gottschalk and Saint Säens. His most permanent works are educational—'Le Rhythme des doigts,' much praised; 'Etudes progressives' (op. 37-39); 'Etudes concertantes' (ops. 46, 47); 'Esquisse' (op. 19); 'Etudes pittoresques' (op. 21); 'Six études caracteristiques sur Obéron,' and 12 transcriptions entitled 'Souvenir du Conservatoire.'
Besides these, his solo sonatas in F minor and C minor, a PF. trio (op. 12), a concerto in A minor, and other works, were much esteemed at the time. The concerto and some brilliant variations on an original theme (op. 3), are reviewed very favourably by Schumann (Ges. Schriften, ii. 155, 181).