Caroline Boissier-Butini (2 May 1786 – 9 March 1836) was a
Swiss pianist and
composer.
Career
Born Caroline Butini in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, she was the eldest child of Pierre Butini (1759–1838) and Jeanne-Pernette, née Bardin (1764–1841). The musician wrote that her father was her most important patron, though he played no instrument. As a member of the upper class of Geneva, she grew up in a favorable environment for the artistic education of girls, but in her direct family environment nobody employed similar intensity with music as she did. In her writings the name of a teacher is mentioned only once, in 1808: François-Charles Mansui (1785–1847), a resident of Geneva between 1807 and 1812. Thus, Butini may have had lessons with him as a young adult. It is not known who taught her the basics of playing the piano.
At age 22, she was married to Auguste Boissier (1784–1856), who played the violin. He also supported her musical activities.
During travels to Paris and London in 1818, she heard some of the foremost pianists of her day including
Johann Baptist Cramer,
Marie Bigot de Morogues,
Charles Mayer,
Henri Bertini
Henri Jérôme Bertini (28 October 1798 – 30 September 1876) was a French classical composer and pianist. He was born into a family of musicians and attracted the attention of François-Joseph Fétis when he toured Europe as a child prodigy ...
, and
Frédéric Kalkbrenner. Apparently, she found her encounters with Cramer and Kalkbrenner in London particularly instructive.
As a pianist, her repertory included music by the "ancient masters"
Scarlatti,
Handel and
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 wor ...
, then
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and
Mozart, reaching to the "moderns" of her day including
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 classic ...
,
Field,
Weber,
Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le d ...
,
Berlioz und
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 ...
.
She was well known in the social and artistic circles of Geneva as both a pianist and composer. She once noted in her diary: "J'ai un tiers consacré de ma vie à la musique" ("I have a third of my life dedicated to music"; journal no. 3, probably 1806). She died in Prégny, near Geneva, aged 49.
Selected works
Piano and orchestra
* six piano concertos, among which
** Concerto No. 5, "Irlandais"
** Concerto No. 6, "Suisse"
Piano solo
* three piano sonatas (published Bern, 2011)
[All other piano works unpublished; manuscripts in Bibliothèque de Genève, Fonds Boissier, Ms mus 97 and Ms mus 98.]
* ''Caprice et variations sur un air bohémien''
* ''Variations sur l'air "Dormez mes chers amours"''
* ''Caprice sur l'air d'une ballade écossaise''
* ''Variations sur deux airs languedociens''
* ''Fantaisie sur l'air de la belle Rosine''
* ''Polonaise''
* ''1er Potpourri''
* ''1ère Sonatine''
* ''Pas russe''
Other
* Divertissement, for clarinet, bassoon and piano
* Pièce pour l'orgue ("Piece for Organ")
Bibliography
* Irène Minder-Jeanneret: ''"Die beste Musikerin der Stadt". Caroline Boissier-Butini (1786–1836) und das Genfer Musikleben zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts'' (= ''Osnabrücker Beiträge zur Musik und Musikerziehung'' vol. 10) (Osnabrück: Epos, 2013); ISBN 978-3-940255-36-5.
Discography
* Piano Concerto No. 6 ("Swiss"); Pièce pour l'orgue; Piano Sonata No. 1; Divertissement; performed by Eva-Maria Zimmermann (piano); Regula Küffer (flute); Nicoleta Paraschivescu (organ); Babette Dorn (piano); Didier Puntos (piano); Michel Westphal (clarinet); Catherine Pépin (bassoon); Berner Kammerorchester, Matthias Kuhn (cond.); on: VDE-Gallo CD-1277.
* ''Variations sur l'air "Dormez mes chers amours"''; performed by Adalberto Maria Riva (piano); on: VDE-Gallo CD-1406.
* Piano Sonata No. 1; ''Caprice sur l'air d'une ballade écossaise''; Sonatine No. 1; ''Variations sur deux airs languedociens''; Piano Sonata No. 2; ''Caprice et variations sur un air bohémien''; performed by Edoardo Torbianelli (piano); on: VDE-Gallo CD-1418.
* Piano Concertos No. 5 ("Irish") and No. 6 ("Swiss"); Divertissement; performed by Adalberto Maria Riva (piano), Sarah van Corneval (flute), Pierre-André Taillard (clarinet), Rogério Gonçalves (bassoon); on: VDE-Gallo CD-1627 (CD, 2020).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boissier-Butini, Caroline
1786 births
1836 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century Swiss women
19th-century women composers
Classical-period composers
Composers for piano
Women classical composers
Musicians from Geneva
Swiss classical composers
Swiss classical pianists
Swiss women pianists
Women classical pianists
19th-century women pianists