Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro (19 January 18939 September 1986) was a Brazilian-born pianist of French parentage. Magdalena Tagliaferro was born in

Petrópolis Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the ci ...

, Brazil. Her father, who had studied piano with

Raoul Pugno Stéphane Raoul Pugno (23 June 1852) was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing of Mozart's works. Biography Raoul Pugno was born in Paris and was of Italian origin. He made his debut at the age of six, and with t ...

in Paris, was a voice and piano professor in São Paulo. He was her first teacher. The cellist

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

heard Tagliaferro play in São Paulo when she was eleven, and he encouraged her to study at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. She went to

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. S ...

with her parents. Her father arranged for her to play for Pugno, who was impressed and recommended her to Antonin Marmontel at the Conservatoire. She entered the Conservatoire in 1906 in Marmontel's class and was awarded the Premier Prix (the highest examination award for performance) in 1907. Subsequently, she studied with

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 poeti ...

and the two remained friends for the rest of his life. She developed a reputation for striving towards the realization of the musical ideals exemplified by Cortot: a perfect union of clarity and tenderness, inner strength and emotion and classical balance in shaping the works being interpreted.''88 notes pour piano solo'',

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, Neva Editions, 2015, p. 51. During her studies at the Conservatoire, the director,

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 ...

invited her on a short tour with him. Later, she performed many of his compositions. During her career, her recital engagements took her to the musical centers of more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa, America, and Asia. She was also very active as a soloist, performing with many leading

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s and performed with many distinguished conductors, including

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. ...

Issay Dobrowen Issay Alexandrovich Dobrowen (russian: Исай Александрович Добровейн; in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire9 December 1953, Oslo, Norway), born Itschok Zorachovitch Barabeitchik, was a Russian/Soviet-Norwegian pianist, co ...

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

Paul Paray Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray () (24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and composer. He was the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1963. Early life and education Paul Paray was ...

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

and

Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht (17 September 188014 February 1965) was a French composer, conductor and writer. Life and career Inghelbrecht was born in Paris, the son of a violist. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut as a ...

. Other solo artists, such as Cortot,

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biog ...

Jules Boucherit Jules Boucherit (29 March 1877 – 1 April 1962) was a French violinist and renowned violin pedagogue. Jules Boucherit was born in Morlaix. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris, studying under Jules Garcin. Later he taught at the same conserv ...

and Pablo Casals performed with her in joint recitals. Composers sought her for premieres of their works, sometimes specifically intending that Tagliaferro be the first artist to perform their compositions. She, in turn, applied herself to performing new works by composers such as

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

Jean Rivier Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including musi ...

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germ ...

and

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

. Tagliaferro also had a distinguished career as a pedagogue. She taught at the Paris Conservatoire from 1937 to 1939, where Polish pianist

Władysław Kędra Władysław Kędra (16 September 191826 September 1968) was a Polish pianist. Kędra was born in Łódź. He made his debut in 1933, performing Haydn's 11th Concerto and Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Rapsodie d'Auvergne''. He graduated from the Łó ...

was among her students, invited by her when she heard him play as she judged the III

International Chopin Piano Competition The International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina), often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland. It was initiated in 1927 and has been held ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in March, 1937. She also created her own school in Paris and later in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and in São Paulo. She gave numerous masterclasses in many countries and created a piano competition. Her many students included Pnina Salzman,

Jeanne Demessieux Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (13 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She perfo ...

, Lycia de Biase Bidart, Flavio Varani,

Cristina Ortiz Cristina Ortiz (born April 17, 1950, in Bahia) is a Brazilian pianist. Biography Born in Bahia, Brazil, Cristina Ortiz began her studies in her home country before moving to France with Magda Tagliaferro. Soon after finishing her studies in Par ...

, Maria Teresa Naranjo Ochoa,

Jorge Luis Prats Jorge Luis Prats Soca (born 3 July 1956) is a Cuban pianist living in Spain. Prats Soca was born in Camagüey. He studied piano since 1963 under Barbara Díaz Alea. In 1970, he was accepted into National Art School, from which he graduated in 1976 ...

, Gayle Sharlene Brown,

James Tocco James Tocco (born 1943) is an American concert pianist. He is the youngest of thirteen children born to Vincenzo and Rose Tocco, both Sicilian immigrants. Early life Born of Sicilian immigrant parents in Detroit, Michigan, Tocco's love of music ...

and Caio Pagano. Tagliaferro maintained a critically acclaimed capacity for beautifully crafted playing into her nineties. She died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Selected recordings

* “ The Complete 78-rpm solo and concerto recordings”. Works by Fauré, Hahn, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Mozart, Chopin… recordings, 1928 at 1954). 3 CD APR 2021. Diapason d’or

References

External links

Profile at Naxos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagliaferro, Magda 1893 births 20th-century French women classical pianists Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty Brazilian classical pianists Brazilian women pianists Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of French descent 1986 deaths 20th-century classical pianists Women music educators Piano pedagogues Erato Records artists