Chaminade's Works

Cécile Chaminade composed Pas des écharpes (Scarf Dance) in 1888. It is the third work in her set of ballet pieces Callirhoé - Airs de Ballet, Opus 37, for piano and orchestra.

Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944) was a French composer and pianist. In the late nineteenth century, her compositions were quite popular, and such pieces as the Scarf Dance were to be found in the music libraries of many lovers of piano music. Her songs, such as The Silver Ring and Ritournelle, were also great favorites. In 1913, she became the first female composer to be awarded the Légion d'Honneur. Her gramophone recordings of six of her compositions for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company are among the most sought-after piano recordings by collectors. By the second half of the twentieth century, her piano pieces and songs became less well-known. Today, her most popular piece is the Flute Concertino in D major, Opus 107, composed for the 1902 Paris Conservatoire Concours, a highly regarded flute contest in Paris.