Clara Lichtenstein (October 21, 1863 – May 3, 1946) was a Hungarian-born pianist and educator.

Early life

Lichtenstein was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1863. Her maternal grandfather was the German singer , and her uncle was the artist Leonhard Gey. She studied at the Charlotte Square Institution in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where her uncle George Lichtenstein was a director. In 1880, she performed piano duets with Sir

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858. Life Hallé was born Karl Halle on 11 April 1819 in Hagen, Westphalia. After settling ...

. She continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in

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; she is said to have also studied with

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 ...

around this time.

Career

Following her uncle's death, Lichtenstein became principal of the Charlotte Square Institution. In 1898, she became a member of the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sign ...

. In 1899, she was invited by

Lord Strathcona Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, of Glencoe in the County of Argyll and of Mount Royal in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1900 for the Scottish-born Canadian ...

to organize a music department at the Royal Victoria College (later

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

) in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In 1904, she became vice-director and head of staff of the new McGill Conservatorium of Music. She taught piano, voice, music history and music theory until 1929.Turbide, Nadia (2013). She also gave public lectures in Montreal. Her students included

Pauline Donalda Pauline Donalda , born Pauline Lightstone, (March 5, 1882 – October 22, 1970) was a Canadian operatic soprano. Early life and education Donalda was born Pauline Lightstone in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of Jewish parents who changed their ...

Ellen Ballon Ellen Ballon (October 6, 1898 – December 21, 1969) was a Canadian pianist. The daughter of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants, she was born in Montreal, Quebec. A child prodigy, she gave her first concert at the age of five and began studying m ...

Maud Allan Maud Allan (born as either Beulah Maude Durrant or Ulah Maud Alma Durrant;Birthname given as Ulah Maud Alma DurrantMcConnell, Virginia A. ''Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco'', University of Nebraska Pr ...

, Marguerita Spencer, jazz pianist Max Chamitov, and bass singer Edmund Burke.

Personal life and legacy

Lichtenstein retired to England in 1929, and died in

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, in 1946, in her eighties. Clara Lichtenstein Hall, a small performance hall at McGill University, was named in her honour. In 1979, as part of the conservatory's 80th anniversary events, pianist Janet Schmalfeldt gave a recital in memory of Clara Lichtenstein, featuring works by Bach, Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt.

References

Year of birth uncertain 1946 deaths Hungarian music educators Canadian music educators Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian women pianists Hungarian women educators Canadian women educators Canadian women pianists Canadian classical pianists Musicians from Budapest Women classical pianists {{Authority control