Carlo Albanesi (born 22 October 1858; died 26 September 1926) was an Italian-born composer, pianist, teacher and examiner who spent most of his working life in England. His ''Exercises for Fingering'', first published in the early 1900s, are still in use today.Musicroom
/ref>

Life and career

Born in Naples, Albanesi received piano lessons from his father, the piano virtuoso Luigi Albanesi (1821-1898), and composition lessons from Sabino Falconi. He established himself in Italy as a pianist before moving to Paris as a recitalist in 1878.Obituary, ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 67, No 1005, November 1926, p. 1037
/ref> From 1882 he settled in London, where he composed and performed widely for the next ten years. In 1893 he was appointed professor of piano at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, succeeding the deceased

Thomas Wingham Thomas Wingham (5 January 1846 – 24 March 1893) was an English composer, known as a teacher and for his time at Brompton Oratory. Life Thomas Wingham was born in London on 5 January 1846 and became organist of St Michael's Mission Church, So ...

. He remained there until his death.''Royal Academy of Music Club Magazine'' No 76, November, 1926
/ref> Albanesi was appointed Chevalier of the Crown of Italy, and was a long-term member of the London Philharmonic Society. He was also an examiner at the Dublin Royal Academy of Music. His pupils included

Crown Princess of Sweden This page is a list of heirs to the Swedish throne. The list includes all individuals who were considered to Inheritance, inherit the Monarchy of Sweden, throne of the Kingdom of Sweden, either as heir apparent or as heir presumptive, since the ac ...

and her sister,

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, she re ...

, the Duchess Marie of Saxe-Coburg and the Duchess Paul of Mecklenburgh, as well as the English composer

Mary Lucas Mary Lucas (born Mary Anderson Juler, 24 May 1882–14 January 1952), sometimes referred to as Mary Anderson Lucas, was an English composer and pianist. Biography Her father was a doctor, and she was one of five children, growing up in London ...

, the Scottish pianist Lilias Mackinnon, Welsh composer and pianist

Meirion Williams Meirion Williams (Dyffryn Ardudwy, 1901 – 4 October 1976) was a Welsh composer, best known for his songwriting. Williams studied with Walford Davies at the University of Aberystwyth and in 1922 went on to study piano at the Royal Academy of Mus ...

and the Chilean composer, pianist and writer Norman Fraser. The Royal Academy of Music established a Carlo Albanesi prize for Chopin performance.

Composer

As a composer Albanesi wrote orchestral and chamber music, including a string quartet and trio for piano and strings. But he is best remembered for his piano music and particularly the six piano sonatas, the last of which was composed in 1907. Of those, Number 4 in Bb minor (1905), with a graceful Barcarolle as its middle movement, achieved the most popularity. A five movement suite for piano, ''Ritmi di danze antiche'', op. 60, was published by Augener in 1897. Albanesi also wrote for amateurs, as in the suite ''Thoughts in Pastels'', which was published by Bosworth's. His ''Exercises for Fingering'' have remained in print. Phillip Sear has detected in his piano music the influence of his Neopolitan near contemporary Paolo Tosti, who also taught at the Royal Academy of Music.

Personal life

In 1896 Albanesi married the British novelist

Effie Adelaide Rowlands Effie Adelaide Maria Henderson (later Rowlands and Albanesi; c.1859 – 16 October 1936) was a British novelist, better known under the pen names Effie Adelaide Rowlands, E. Maria Albanesi and Madame Albanesi. She was the author of more than 2 ...

. They lived at 3

Gloucester Terrace Gloucester Terrace is a street in Central London in the vicinity of Paddington and Bayswater. Located in the City of Westminster, it runs northwards from Lancaster Terrace near to Lancaster Gate tube station and Hyde Park before curving round t ...

in Hyde Park,''Who's Who in Music'' (1913)
/ref> and had two daughters: Eva Olimpia Maria Albanesi (1897-????), and Margherita Cecilia Brigida Lucia Maria Albanesi (better known as the actress

Meggie Albanesi Margherita Cecilia Brigida Lucia Maria Albanesi (8 October 1899—9 December 1923) was a British stage and film actress. Life and career She was born in London on 8 October 1899. Her father was Italian-born Carlo Albanesi (1856-1926), a piani ...

) (1899–1923). Eva married Austin Henry Williams in 1927 and moved to South Africa in 1948.Felsted Roll of Honour Project
/ref> Carlo Albanesi died at home following a short illness and was buried at St Pancras Cemetery, Finchley.'Signor Albanesi', in ''The Times'', Sept. 22, 1926, p.15

References

External links

Scores by Carlo Albanesi at IMSLP

Performance of ''Romance Sans Paroles'' No.5

Daniele Adornetto plays the Piano Sonatas, YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albanesi, Carlo 1858 births 1926 deaths 20th-century British pianists 19th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian composers 19th-century British composers 20th-century British composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Italian emigrants Immigrants to the United Kingdom