Antonietta Rudge (13 June 1885 – 14 July 1974) was a Brazilian pianist of international fame.

Early life

Rudge was born in 1885, in São Paulo, to Anna Emília da Silva Telles and João Henrique Rudge. She was a descendant of the English settler John Rudge, from

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

, who came to Brazil in the early 19th century. Rudge demonstrated a talent for playing the piano since she was four years old. Her parents hired her a private teacher, the Frenchman Gabriel Giraudon. She debuted in a public piano concert in 1892, at age seven, at the Casa Levy hall. She performed at São Paulo clubs, such as Clube Internacional and Clube Germânia, playing works by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. That time, Rudge was a pupil of Luigi Chiaffarelli. Rudge's repertoire also included

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's concertos, Chopin's sonatas and nocturnes,

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

'',

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, and

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's Hungarian Rhapsody no.6.

Career

In 1907, Rudge started a two-year European tour, playing in England, Germany and France. Her performances were acclaimed, garnering her praise from artists like

Isidor Philipp Isidor Edmond Philipp (first name sometimes spelled Isidore) (2 September 1863 – 20 February 1958) was a French pianist, composer, and pedagogue of Jewish Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris. Biography Isidor Philipp ...

and

Charles Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of th ...

. She toured Europe again in 1911. Back to Brazil, she did concerts in Brazilian capitals. In a concert in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1918, Rudge and

Guiomar Novaes Guiomar Novaes (February 28, 1895 – March 7, 1979) was a Brazilian pianist known for individuality of tone and phrasing, singing line, and a subtle and nuanced approach to her interpretations. Biography Born in São João da Boa Vista (in the ...

were praised by

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

, who called them "brilliant". Rudge played less frequently in public, dedicating herself to musical education. In 1927 she founded the Musical Conservatory in Santos. In the 1930s and 1940s she recorded some 78rpm discs with performances of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

Liebestod "" ( German for "love death") is the title of the final, dramatic music from the 1859 opera ' by Richard Wagner. It is the climactic end of the opera, as Isolde sings over Tristan's dead body. The music is often used in film and television produ ...

and Chopin's Barcarolle. Those recordings were reissued in 2000 in a CD. Rudge died on 14 July 1974. Her body is buried at the Cemitério da Consolação.

Personal life

In 1905, Antonietta Rudge married Charles Miller, known for introducing the game of football (soccer) to Brazil with whom she had two children. They divorced in 1925, and she started a relationship with Modernist poet

Menotti del Picchia Paulo Menotti Del Picchia (São Paulo, March 20, 1892 – São Paulo, August 23, 1988) was a Brazilian poet, journalist, and painter. He is associated with the Generation of 1922, the first generation of Brazilian modernism artists. Del Picc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudge, Antonietta 1885 births 1974 deaths Brazilian people of English descent Brazilian classical pianists Brazilian women pianists Musicians from São Paulo 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century classical pianists Women classical pianists 20th-century women pianists