Biographical Sketches

From "The Worlds Best Music" © 1908

Saint-Saens, Charles Camille
Born in Paris, October 9, 1835.
He began the study of music at seven years of age with Stamaty and continued it under Maleden and Halevy (composition), and Benoist (organ). In 1853 he was appointed organist of the Church of St. Mery, and in 1858-70 presided at theorgan of the Madeleine. In 1906-07 he visited the United States. His operas proved to least successful of his writings, and it is as an instrumental composer that he became widely known. In this field his works include four "symphonic poems", three symphonies, of which the C minor is the best known, concertos for pianoforte and violin, a quintet, a quartet, and two trios, for piano and strings, and some church music.

Salome, Theodore Cesar
Born in Paris, January 20, 1834.
He was well known, not only for his brilliant organ playing, but also for his chamber music, pianoforte pieces, songs, and church music.
He died in St. Germain in 1896.

Sanderson, Harry
Born in Philadelphia, January 29, 1838.
A pianist of much skill, he played duets very effectively with Gottschalk, who took a great interest in his welfare. In 1866 Sanderson went to London and appeared at Mellon's concerts with great success.
He died in New York City, September 27, 1871.

Sarasate, Pablo de
Born in Pamplona, Spain, March 10, 1844.
He studied under Alard and Reber at the Paris Conservatoire, and then started upon his career as a performer in France, England, the Orient, and America. In 1889 he made another trip to America, with Eugene d'Albert. His playing has been characterized as remarkable for both technique and tone. He wrote several short compositions for the violin.

Scharwenka, Philipp
Born in Samter (Posen), Prussia, February 25, 1847.
He studied at Kullak's Academy (Berlin), taught theory and composition there in 1870-81, an din 1881 took a similar post in the conservatory established by his brother Xaver. Scharwenka's works are chiefly pieces for the piano, but he also wrote songs, concert pieces for the violin and the 'cello, two symphonies, and other compositions.

Scharwenka, Xaver
Born in Samter (Posen), Prussia, January 6, 1850.
After study with Kullak and Wurst at Kullak's Academy, Berlin, he became a teacher in that institution in 1868. In 1874 he began a series of tours, in the course of which he visited America. He established the Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin in 1881 and was its director until 1891, when he founded a similar conservatory in New York. In 1898 he returned to Berlin to assume the directorship of the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory, formed by consolidation with the school of Karl Klindworth. Among his compositions are a symphony, three pianoforte concertos, several Polish dances, suites, etudes, and songs.

Schnecker, Peter August
Born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, August 26, 1850.
He came to the United States in 1865, studied with S. P. Warren (New York) and at the Leipzig Conservatory, and in 1870-80 was assistant organist of St. Thomas' Church (New York). In 1872 he became organist and musical director of the West Presbyterian Church. He composed pianoforte pieces and much popular church music.

Scholtz, Hermann
Born in Beslau, Germany, June 9, 1845.
His musical education was conducted at Leipzig by Brosig, Riedel, and Plaidy, and at the Royal School of Music in Munich, where he was instructed by Von Bulow and Rheinberger. He was a teacher in Munich in 1870-75, and from 1880 in Dresden, where he was appointed royal chamber virtuoso. His works include a pianoforte concerto, a sonata, and various other piano music.

Schubert, Franz (Peter)
Born in Vienna, Austria, January 31, 1797.
His musical education was begun by his father, who taught him the violin. He also studied from the age of seven under Michael Holzer, and his brother Ignaz gave him lessons on the pianoforte. In 1808 he was admitted as a soprano to the court choir. He became a pupil at the "Stadtconvict", the training school for court singers, where he was instructed in harmony by Ruzicka and in composition by Salieri. At fourteen he had composed a piano duet, and during the next year ye wrote much, producing an orverture and his earliest songs, "Hagars Klage" and "Der Vatermorder".

After leaving the court chapel he supported himself by teacher music, continuing his own studies in private, and devoting himself industriously to composition. He attempted all kinds of music, proving his powers of invention by operas, symphonies, choruses, overtures, canatas, psalms, masses, hallelujahs, trios, rondos, vocal and string quartets, songs, etc. For some time he was little appreciated, but when once he became well known his fame spread to every country where musical knowledge had made any considerable progress.

For a long time Schubert's reputation rested chiefly upon his ballads and songs - numbering more than six hundred - in which he no doubt excels the similar works of other composers; but gradually the musical world discovered the equal merits of his chamber music, "Impromptus", "Moments Musicaux", of his orchestral works, reaching their climax in the magnificent symphony in C, and of his other "imperishable works in nearly every branch of music". Dying at thirty-one, with such achievements to his credit, he left men to wonder whether, had his years been fully rounded out, he might not have made his name the greatest in musical annuals.

Of Schubert's ten symphonies, not one was produced during his lifetime, though they are all works of genius. His ideas came so quickly that the knowledge he possessed did not enable him to arrange them in the perfect order of the symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven. Among his greatest songs are "The Erlking", "The Trout", "The Wanderer", "Hark, Hark, the Lark", "Who is Sylvia?" etc. After the C symphony, his best instrumental works include the "Unfinished Symphony", the B minor (unfinished) and C major symphonies; the A minor, D minor, and G string quartets; pianoforte sonatas; the string quartet in C; and the "Rondeau Brillant" in B minor.
He died in Vienna, November 19, 1828.

Schulhoff, Julius
Born in Prague (Bohemia), Austria-Hungary, August 2, 1825.
He studied pianoforte method with Kisch and counterpoint with Tomaschek. In 1844 he appeared at a recital in Paris, where he became well known as a virtuoso and was much in demand as a teacher. He removed to Dresden in 1870, and subsequently to Berlin. Schulhoff is best known for his brilliant piano music.
He died in Berlin in 1898.