Zimmerman, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume
Zimmerman, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume
Zimmerman, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume, famous French piano teacher and composer; b. Paris, March 19,1785; d. there, Oct. 29,1853. The son of a Paris piano maker, he entered the Paris Cons, in 1798, studying under Boieldieu, Rey, Catel, and Cherubini; won the premier prix for piano in 1800, and for harmony in 1802. He became a prof, of piano there in 1816, and was pensioned in 1848. Among his many pupils were Alkan, Marmontel, Lacombe, Ambroise Thomas, and César Franck. His chief work is the Encyclopédie du pianiste, a complete method for piano, part III of which is a treatise on harmony and counterpoint. Among his compositions was the opera L’Enlèvement (Paris, Oct. 26, 1830), 2 piano concertos, a Piano Sonata, 24 études, etc.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire