Hélène Boschi ( ; 11 August 19179 July 1990) was a Franco-Swiss pianist, born in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
. She studied with
Yvonne Lefébure and
Alfred Cortot at the Ecole normale de musique in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. 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 dedicated his ''Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera'' (created in 1952),
Fernando Lopes-Graça his ''3rd Sonata'' (created in 1954) and
Claude Ballif 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's ''Six pièces de l'automne 53'' for piano.
Billaudot catalogue, p. 7
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Hélène Boschi performed Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
, François Couperin, Gabriel Fauré, Franck, Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
, W-A Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
, Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
. Rameau, K-M von Weber. Among her chamber music partners were Armand Angster, Gerard Caussé, Michel Debost, Irène Joachim, Annie Jodry, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Étienne Péclard, Peter Rybar, Milos Sadlo. Hélène Boschi also formed with pianist Germaine Mounier, 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 influe ...
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, 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, Kiryl Kondrashin, Jean Martinon, Kurt Masur, 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 (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
. Among her students were Piotr Anderszewski, Dana Borsan, Claire Chevallier, Allain Gaussin, Alain Jomy, Thierry Mechler, Jean-Marie Sénia, Emmanuel Strosser and François Verry.
In 1975, Hélène Boschi received the Robert Schumann Prize for her interpretations of the composer born in the town of Zwickau.
Discography
Boschi recorded throughout her career for several record companies: Le Chant du Monde, Supraphon, VEB Eterna. She was the first pianist to record the Sonatas of Padre Antonio Soler (1952, Grand Prix du disque) and the complete works for piano and chamber music of Clara Schumann (with Annie Jodry and Roland Pidoux).
See also
List of classical piano duos (performers)
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
20th-century French classical pianists
Swiss classical pianists
1917 births
1990 deaths
Piano educators
Swiss women pianists
Classical piano duos
Academic staff of the École Normale de Musique de Paris
École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni
Musicians from Lausanne
Musicians from Strasbourg
Swiss emigrants to France