Emmanuel Chabrier

A French composer and pianist who was an imaginative composer, particularly for piano works, and most appreciated by fellow artists. The genres of Chabrier's compositions include operas, songs, orchestral laments, suites and preludes as well as a number of piano pieces. Wagner influenced some of Chabrier's later works (leitmotif, complex sonorities, and 9th chords that were unanticipated) and he frequented the company of Faure, d'Indy, Saint-Saens and Massenet. Chabrier's work had a profound influence upon Ravel. Characteristics of his music included pscychological feelings, enigmatic dissonances, accidentals and modulations, and bold juxtapositions in dynamics. His unique compositional skills and innovations were superceded only by his piano virtuosity. ~ Keith Johnson, All Music Guide