Born in Montreal in 1893, Gilles Amiot grew up in Quebec in a wealthy family. He entered the dental school of Laval University in Montreal in 1911 and graduated in 1915. During his university years, Gilles participated in numerous musical competitions on Canadian radio. A good pianist and improviser, he also accompanied silent films shown in a Montreal cinema. Between 1912 and 1916, he composed three piano waltzes: Dilettante, Mélancolie, and Gaby Walz. However, he stopped his musical performances in 1918 to enlist in the dental corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to the rank of captain and stationed in Siberia, where he received command of the 260th battalion. After his return to Canada in 1919, Gilles Amiot left the armed forces to resume his profession in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (Quebec). He continued to play the piano to entertain his patients and guests until his death in 1970. Endowed with irresistible charm, Gilles Amiot's works reflect the importance given to lyricism at the time they were composed. Captivated by these forgotten works and influenced by the constraints of the global pandemic of 2020, I decided to compose concert studies for solo saxophone inspired by the melodies of the waltzes to share them a hundred years later in a new way with a new audience.
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