Noble Beginnings
Donald Macleod continues his 'Tour de France' in a week exploring revolutionary French composer H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult. Today, how her background would shape her musical destiny.
Donald Macleod begins the second leg of his 鈥淭our de France鈥� in three weeks focused on French composers across the centuries. This week, Donald introduces us to the remarkable life story and unsung musical innovations of H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult.
There aren鈥檛 many composers who can claim that music saved their life 鈥� at least, in the literal sense. But for H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult, it was her astounding powers of improvisation that got her out of the stickiest situation imaginable, hauled in front of the guillotine during the French Revolution. This week, we鈥檒l follow her rollercoaster tale and hear how she had her own revolutionary impact on the piano literature. Described as a precursor of Romanticism, anticipating the language of Schubert and Mendelssohn, audiences said her playing 鈥渕ade the keys speak鈥�. She broke ground as the first female professor at the Paris Conservatoire and left behind 600 pages of music, including a complete course for piano which elevated the technical study into a miniature lyrical art form. As Donald pieces together her tantalising story, he鈥檚 joined by pianist Clare Hammond, who has spent recent years getting to know Montgeroult and recording an album of her 茅tudes.
Today, we hear about H茅l猫ne鈥檚 early years, growing up in aristocratic circles. For young women, the harpsichord was wielded as a tool for courtship but for Helene her musical prospects immediately ran deeper. Little did she know then that her noble background would eventually become one of her biggest artistic obstacles, and would even someday put her life in danger.
Etude No 66 in C minor
Bruno Robilliard, piano
Etude No 101 in C sharp major
Laurent Martin, piano
Sonata in E flat, Op 1 No 2
Nicolas Horvath, piano
Sonata in D major, Op 5 No 1 (1st mvt 鈥� Allegro spirituoso)
Hiroaki Takenouchi, piano
Sonata in A minor, Op 2 No 3 (2nd mvt - Adagio)
Sophie Rosa, violin
Ian Buckle, piano
Etude No 38 in A minor
Clare Hammond, piano
Produced by Amelia Parker for 蜜芽传媒 Audio Cardiff
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Etude No 66
Performer: Bruno Robilliard.- HORTUS : HOR048.
- HORTUS.
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Etude No 101 in C sharp major
Performer: Laurent Martin.- LIGIA : 447360.
- LIGIA.
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Sonata in E flat major, Op 1 No 2
Performer: Nicolas Horvath.- GRAND PIANO : GP885-86.
- GRAND PIANO.
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Sonata in D major, Op 5 No 1 (1st mvt)
Performer: Hiroaki Takenouchi. -
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Violin Sonata in A minor Op.2 no.3 (2nd mvt)
Performer: Sophie Rosa. Performer: Ian Buckle.- RUBICON : RCD1056.
- RUBICON.
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H茅l猫ne de Montgeroult
Etude No 38 in A minor
Performer: Clare Hammond.- BIS : 2603.
- BIS.
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Broadcast
- Mon 11 Jul 2022 12:00蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
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