Elena Waiss (, Elena Waiss Band; October 21, 1908 - May 22, 1988) was a Chilean pianist. She was the founder and director of the Escuela Moderna de Música y Danza (EMMD) (Modern School of Music and Dance) and author of texts for musical initiation such as ''Mi amigo el piano''. She also served as a harpsichordist and pianist for the Chilean Symphony Orchestra.

Biography

Waiss was born in

Concepción, Chile Concepción (; originally: ''Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz'', "Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light") is a city and commune in central Chile, and the geographical and demographic core of the Greater Concepción metropolitan a ...

on October 21, 1908. After some years, she arrived in the city of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

accompanying her mother, Anna Band, who was a piano teacher. Waiss was a close friend of Chilean pianist

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...

. She was a member of the Chilean Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years performing as a pianist, in charge of the

Celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

and as a

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

soloist, which was really her passion. Elena Waiss junto a su familia

Waiss married the violinist Zoltán Fischer with whom she had two children, pianist

Edith Fischer Edith Fischer (born February 18, 1935) is a Chilean pianist. She is notable for her renditions of the full cycle of Piano sonatas (Beethoven), Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, which she has performed live twelve times. Biography Fischer was born in Sa ...

and violinist Edgar Fischer. The marriage lasted until Fischer's death in September 1970, from a heart attack while performing on tour in Mexico. Waiss dedicated her life to teaching music and the expansion of culture in Chile. Among her great works is the establishment of the EMMD on May 10, 1940 together with the Chilean musicians René Amengual, Alfonso Letelier, and

Juan Orrego-Salas Juan Antonio Orrego-Salas (January 18, 1919 – November 24, 2019) was a Chilean composer, musicologist, music critic, and academic. Life and career Born Juan Antonio Orrego-Salas in Santiago on January 18, 1919, Orrego-Salas studied at the Cons ...

. It was the first institution of higher education in Chile specialized in music and dance careers. She was also a great piano teacher. During her period as director of the EMMD, she taught several Chilean musicians and pianists such as Rosita Renard, Ena Bronstein, Lionel Party,

, Patricia Parraguez, Max Valdés, Femando Torm, Julio Laks, Bárbara Perelman, Adriana Balter, and Carla Davanzo. Waiss made compilations of works for children that were disseminated in Chile and around the world such as ''Mi amigo el piano, Los maestros del clavecín'' and ''Selección de clásicos'' that have multiple editions. In addition to music, she showed a great interest in psychology, painting, theater, and especially literature, always being aware of everything related to music culture. All of this formed her into a humanistic personality that her closest friends could notice. She died in Santiago, May 22, 1988.

Publications

* 1947, ''Mi amigo el piano'', musical score (4th edition, 1995, EMMD) ** '' Mon ami le piano, '' musical score in French. (1984, Kunzelmann) ** '' Mein Freund das Klavier '', musical score in German. (1984, Kunzelmann) * 1950, ''Selección de clásicos'', musical score with René Amengual (5th edition, EMMD) * 1954, ''Los maestros del clavecín'', musical score with René Amengual (3rd edition, 1954, Universitaria)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waiss, Elena 1908 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Chilean musicians Chilean classical pianists Chilean women musicians Women pianists School founders Women founders People from Concepción, Chile 20th-century Chilean educators 20th-century women educators Classical pianists