Esmeralda Athanasiu-Gardeev (1834–1917) was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

pianist and composer.

Life

Athanasiu-Gardeev was born in Galaţi,

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, in 1834. She studied music in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and then piano and composition in Paris with Julius Schulhoff and composition in St. Petersburg with Anton Rubinstein. She married Vasile Hermaziu and then General Gardeev who introduced her to Russian aristocracy. After the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

, she lived in Bucharest, teaching voice, lute and piano. She died in Bucharest in 1917.

Works

Many of Athanasiu-Gardeev's compositions were based on

Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian ...

. Selected works include: *''Romanian March, Op. 1'' *''Myosotis'' (mazurka) *''Sourvenir de Odessa'' (mazurka) *''Polca capricioasa'' *''Wordless romance'' *''Scherzo'' *''Imn'' hymn for mixed chorus *''Collection de chansons'' *''3 Leider''

References

1834 births 1917 deaths People from Galați People of the Principality of Moldavia 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Piano pedagogues Romanian classical pianists Romanian women pianists Romanian classical composers Romanian music educators Romantic composers Voice teachers Women classical composers 19th-century classical pianists Women music educators Women classical pianists 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers 19th-century women pianists 20th-century women pianists {{Romania-composer-stub