The life of pianist Hélène de Montgeroult is worthy of a feature film. Even as a child, she was musically promising. Because of her aristocratic origins, she could only perform in salons such as Madame de Staël's. She married Marquis de Montgeroult, with whom she experienced secret diplomatic missions. In 1793, during a trip abroad, both were kidnapped and imprisoned by Austrian soldiers. The
… marquis did not survive. Hélène managed to return to France with great difficulty. Here she was imprisoned again in the aftermath of the French Revolution. However, she was released when she managed to move the judges to tears with an improvisation on the Marseillaise. She became a piano teacher at the still young Paris Conservatory. In fact, she was the first woman to hold such a position. She published her etudes composed between 1788 and 1812 in 1816. These fine etudes betray nothing of her eventful life. On the contrary, they are all charm and serenity, comparable to Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte. (HJ)more
