Stéphan Elmas
Stéphan Elmas (Armenian: Ստեփան Էլմաս), an Armenian composer, pianist and teacher, was born in Smyrna, the Ottoman Empire, in 1862 to a family of entrepreneurs. The little boy – a child prodigy – began taking piano lessons and writing short piano pieces under the tutelage of a local music teacher, Mr. Moseer. At the age of thirteen, the young virtuoso presented an all-Liszt recital.
In July 1879, with the encouragement of his teacher – but against the wishes of his family – Stéphan left for Weimar, Germany, hoping to audition for Franz Liszt. As it happens, he was able to arrange a session with the great master, who advised him to go to Austria and work with Professor Anton Door at the Vienna Conservatory and Franz Kremm, the distinguished composer and church musician.
In Vienna, the seventeen-year-old Stéphan divided his time equally between studying the piano and composition. His debut in 1885 received accolades from the press. Elmas composed many character pieces, including waltzes, mazurkas, nocturnes and impromptus. He dedicated his 6 Etudes (1881) to Franz Liszt and a number of pieces with poetic titles to Victor Hugo.
Meanwhile, Elmas stayed in touch with Liszt always seeking his advice. In 1886, he briefly returned to his native Smyrna to attend his father’s funeral, but went back to Vienna convinced that Europe had much more to offer him. On February 24, 1887, he played in Saal Bösendorfer in Vienna with great success. A busy concert schedule followed, with Elmas scoring artistic triumphs in France, England, Germany, Austria and Italy. He mostly programmed his own works, but also performed Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann. Reviewing one of his recitals in France, the music critic of La Nation wrote: “Among the many recent concerts given in Paris, the one by Stéphan Elmas stands out. He is a gifted composer as well, who plays his compositions with great mastery.”
During his travels, Elmas became closely acquainted with the Russian composer and pianist Anton Rubinstein, the French composer Jules Massenet, the French pianist Joseph-Edouard Risler, the Armenian lexicographer Guy de Lusignan, among others. In 1912, he took up permanent residence in Geneva, Switzerland, where he continued to compose, teach and perform. Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, the periodical founded by Schumann, reviewed his newly published compositions in its December 1923 issue. “Stéphan Elmas displays a very interesting and sensitive individuality. Characteristics of his Oriental origins manifest a special warmth. In a clear and transparent style, his piano compositions express the philosophical content with which he infuses them.”
Over time, Elmas became hard of hearing, isolated and bitter. Thankfully, he befriended Aimée Rapin (1869-1956), the armless Swiss painter, who nursed and consoled him during these difficult times. Elmas was also haunted by the tragic events of the 1915 Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks. Fortunately, his family eventually escaped to Athens following the Great Fire of Smyrna staged by the Turks in 1922.
Stephén Elmas dictated his memoirs to Krikor-Hagop, a young journalist, which is now housed at the Charentz Museum of Literature and Arts of Armenia. The composer died in Geneva on August 11, 1937; his body is buried at the city’s Plainpalais cemetery.
Elmas composed with great facility and, perhaps because of it, he did not scrutinize his output sufficiently. He is most successful in his concise salon pieces, which are elegant, charming and stylish. His compositional outlook is back towards the Romantics, rather than forward to the challenging times that shaped the musical world at the beginning of the new century.
Established in 1988 under the artistic guidance of Alexandre Siranossian, Stephan Elmas Foundation aims to disseminate the legacy of the Armenian composer. Recently, the composer’s works have been experiencing a revival, thanks to efforts of pianist Armen Babakhanian.