E. Robert Schmitz

Who was E. Robert Schmitz?

Elie Robert Schmitz was a Franco-American pianist and composer.

Schmitz studied with Louis-Joseph Diémer at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won First Prize in Piano. He caught the attention of Camille Saint-Saëns and Vincent D'Indy while directing the Association Musicale Moderne et Artistique, which gave the world premiere of Debussy's Première rhapsodie, Roussel's Evocations, Le Flem's Crépuscules d'amour, and Milhaud's Suite Symphonique. Schmitz lead the Association from 1912 until 1914.

Schmitz toured the United States in 1919, and the following year, founded the Franco-American Music Society in New York. The Society incorporated as Pro Musica in 1923.

Schmitz published a system of piano study, The Capture of Inspiration, in 1935. His book, The Piano works of Claude Debussy, a technical analysis with commentary, was published after his death, in 1950. Schmitz recorded the entire Debussy Preludes, Book I, released in the LP era on the Camden label, a product of Radio Corporation of America. Among his notable pupils was the composer Samuel Dolin.