Pleyel, (Joseph Stephen) Camille
Pleyel, (Joseph Stephen) Camille
Pleyel, (Joseph Stephen) Camille , French pianist, piano manufacturer, and composer, son of Ignace (Ignaz Josef) Pleyel ; b. Strasbourg, Dec. 18, 1788; d. Paris, May 4, 1855. He was a pupil of his father and later of Desormery, Dussek, and Steibelt. In 1815 became a legal partner in his father’s firm, which became Ignace Pleyel et Fils Aîné. In 1824 he took complete control of the business, and was joined by Kalkbrenner in 1829. Upon Camille’s death, Kalkbrenner’s son-in-law, A. Wolff, took over the firm. Pleyel’s works include trios, sonatas, and various piano pieces. His wife, Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel (née Moke; b. Paris, Sept. 4, 1811; d. St.-Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels, March 30, 1875), was a pianist, teacher, and composer. She studied with Jacques Herz, Moscheies, and Kalkbrenner, appearing as soloist in Kalkbrenner’s 1st Piano Concerto in Brussels at age 14. She created a sensation with her virtuosic tour of Belgium, Austria, Germany, and Russia in her 15th year. Berlioz fell in love with her (1830), but she married the younger Pleyel that same year, only to separate from him in 1835; then she toured Europe with great success. She subsequently was prof. of piano at the Brussels Cons. (1848–72). She wrote some piano pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire