Sidney Lambert (c. 18381905) was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

pianist, music educator and composer, born before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

as a

free person of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

. He and his family were noted for talent in music and gained international acclaim.

Life and career

Lambert was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the son of pianist and composer Charles-Richard Lambert and his second wife Creole Coralie Suzanne Orzy. He and his older brother Charles Lucien Lambert studied music with their father. In 1854, Charles, who married a French woman, emigrated with his family from the U.S. to France. Sidney Lambert also lived and worked in France, and served as a pianist in Portugal at the Royal court of King Dom Pedro, along with his nephew

Lucien-Léon Guillaume Lambert Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert or Lucien Lambert, Jr. (1858–1945) was a French pianist and composer of African-American Creole descent. His family was noted for talent in music and gained international acclaim. Life and career Lucien-Leon Lambe ...

, where he was recognized for innovation in music in the 1870s. Lambert died in Paris in 1905. His papers are housed in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

de Paris, including thirty-two works dated 1866 to 1899. He seemed to be the only one of his family who published works in New Orleans.

Works

Selected works include: *''Celebre tarantelle'' (1890) (arrangement of piece by Louis M. Gottschalk) *''Stella (Mon etoile)'' (1879)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Sidney 1830s births 1905 deaths 19th-century American classical composers 19th-century French male classical pianists 19th-century French classical pianists 19th-century French composers 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American classical pianists 20th-century French composers African-American Catholics American emigrants to France French classical composers French male classical composers French music educators