Hélène Boschi ( ; 11 August 19179 July 1990) was a Franco-Swiss pianist, born in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

. She studied with

Yvonne Lefébure Yvonne Lefébure (29 June 1898, Ermont – 23 January 1986, Paris) was a French pianist and teacher. Born in Ermont, she studied with Alfred Cortot at the Conservatoire de Paris, taking a ''premier prix'' in piano and numerous other subjects. She ...

and

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poetic ...

at the Ecole normale de musique in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Throughout her life she led a dual career as a teacher and as a performer. She played the music of the 20th Century, Bartok, Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Janáček or Martinu.

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical serialism, twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current ...

dedicated his ''Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera'' (created in 1952), Fernando Lopes-Graça his ''3rd Sonata'' (created in 1954) and

Claude Ballif Claude Ballif (22 May 1924 – 24 July 2004) was a French composer, writer, and pedagogue. He worked at a number of institutions throughout more than 40 years of teaching, one of which he had attended as a student. Among his pupils were Raynald ...

his ''4th Sonata'' (created in 1963). She also gave the first performance of Karel Husa's ''Piano Concertino'' in Brussels (1954) which was dedicated to her. In 1955 Hélène Boschi premiered Jean-Louis Martinet's ''Prelude for Piano and Orchestra'' and in 1964

Louis Durey Louis Edmond Durey (; 27 May 18883 July 1979)Randel, Don Michael (1996)The Harvard biographical dictionary of music, p. 232. Harvard University Press. . was a French composer. Life Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It ...

's ''Six pièces de l'automne 53'' for piano.Billaudot catalogue, p. 7
/ref> Hélène Boschi performed

Johann Sebastian 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 wo ...

, François Couperin,

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

, Franck, Joseph

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 ...

, W-A

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

. Rameau, K-M von Weber. Among her chamber music partners were

Armand Angster Armand Angster (born 20 January 1947) is a French clarinetist. With Françoise Kubler (soprano), he is the founder of the ensemble "Accroche Note", research and creative formation in contemporary music. Career Born in Strasbourg, Angster's mast ...

, Gerard Caussé, Michel Debost,

Irène Joachim Irène Joachim (13 March 1913 - 20 April 2001) was a French soprano, and later a vocal teacher. Early life Daughter of German officer Herman Joachim and French violinist Suzanne Chaigneau, and granddaughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim, she le ...

, Annie Jodry,

Jean-Jacques Kantorow Jean-Jacques Kantorow (born 3 October 1945) is a French violinist and conductor. His son is the pianist Alexandre Kantorow. Biography Kantorow was born in Cannes, France, into a family of Russian-Jewish origin. From the age of 13 he studied at ...

, Étienne Péclard, Peter Rybar, Milos Sadlo. Hélène Boschi also formed with pianist

Germaine Mounier Germaine Mounier (7 February 1920 – 27 June 2006) was a 20th-century French classical pianist and music educator. Biography Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Mounier won First prize at the Conservatoire de Paris. She worked the piano with Yves Nat and ...

, a piano duet with a vast repertoire, recording works by Mozart, Clementi,

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and Busoni. From 1955 to 1965, as Soloist of the

Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF; ''French Radio and Television Broadcasting'') was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...

(RTF) she performed many broadcast concerts. She played also with major orchestras in Europe (

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the titl ...

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, Chamber Orchestra of Berlin, Orchestre national de France, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, etc.) and renowned conductors as Georges

Enesco Enesco (Enesco, LLC) is an American company specializing in the sales and distribution of giftware. The company was known as an industry leader as it carried the Precious Moments porcelain figurine line of products during the 1970s, 1980s, and 19 ...

, Kiryl Kondrashin,

Jean Martinon Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (usually known simply as Jean Martinon (); 10 January 19101 March 1976) was a French conductor and composer. Biography Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire ...

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus O ...

, Vaclav Neumann, Manuel Rosenthal, Kurt Sanderling, Karel Sejna, etc. From 1960 to 1965, Hélène Boschi taught at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. She led thereafter for twenty years (1965–1985) one of the top classes in piano at the Conservatory of Strasbourg. She also gave during 15 years masterclasses in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. Among her students were Piotr Anderszewski, Dana Borsan, Claire Chevallier,

Allain Gaussin Allain Gaussin (born 6 November 1943) is a noted French composer. Gaussin was born in Saint-Sever-Calvados, Normandy. He is a laureate of the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP) where he studied with Olivi ...

, Alain Jomy, Thierry Mechler, Jean-Marie Sénia,

Emmanuel Strosser Emmanuel Strosser (born 4 May 1965 in Strasbourg), the son of theatre director Pierre Strosser, is a French classical pianist. Biography Strosser first studied with Hélène Boschi then at the Conservatoire de Paris with Jean-Claude Pennetier a ...

and François Verry. In 1975, Hélène Boschi received the Robert Schumann Prize for her interpretations of the composer born in the town of

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

Discography

Boschi recorded throughout her career for several record companies: Le Chant du Monde,

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

, VEB Eterna. She was the first pianist to record the Sonatas of Padre

Antonio Soler Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

(1952,

Grand Prix du disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

) and the complete works for piano and chamber music of

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

(with Annie Jodry and Roland Pidoux).

External links

Hélène Boschi – Notre Histoire

Gramophone – The world's best classical music reviews: "Helene Boschi plays with unmistakable love and care."

Notes & References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boschi, Helene 20th-century French women classical pianists Swiss classical pianists 1917 births 1990 deaths Piano pedagogues Swiss women pianists Classical piano duos Academic staff of the École Normale de Musique de Paris École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni People from Lausanne Musicians from Strasbourg Swiss emigrants to France

Discography

See also

External links

Notes & References