Superstar Pedagogy The Lang Lang Piano Method

by Georg Predota  June 14th, 2026

Sports fans wear the shirts of their idols, and classical music has never entirely escaped the cult of personality either. Few classical musicians in modern times, with the possible exception of Liberace, have embraced celebrity quite as enthusiastically as Lang Lang.

There is branded merchandise, the carefully scripted aura of fashion and luxury, and, of course, the flamboyant stage persona. Combined with an unhappy and traumatic childhood, and you’ve got a classical rags to riches story.

I have personally seen Lang Lang grinning from t-shirts, but many youngsters can now encounter his animated cartoon personality in the Lang Lang Piano Method.

To commemorate his birthday on 14 June, it is worth asking what this piano primer does for the piano community: does it give back, or does it simply borrow yet another page from the superstar playbook?  

Join the Superhero

The Lang Lang Piano Method, Preparatory Level (Faber Music)

First things first: I am not a piano teacher, and my personal instruction relied on established methods. I have also lived long enough to understand that things have changed, and that entire generations have never known a time without the internet or digital technology.

Lang Lang introduced his Piano Method as part of the “Lang Lang Piano Academy” with Faber Music in 2016. According to the pianist, it is designed to inspire the next generation of pianists by making the piano feel accessible rather than intimidating.

There are five levels, each with a printed or downloadable book, downloadable audio files, material for teachers, answer sheets, QR codes for quick access, and certificates of completion so you can join the “superhero world of Lang Lang.”

He believes that children should not be faced with nothing but scales and arpeggios, and that joy should always come before discipline. In this case, joy takes the form of a cartoon Lang Lang, whose own voice takes young pianists through each section.  

Education Vision

Lang Lang

There seems to be a cultural element behind it, as Lang Lang sees his method not as a tool to produce concert pianists, but as a way of exposing millions of children to music-making. “Learning an instrument can be a really important part of a child’s development and a great way to improve many things like concentration and focus.” (Faber Music, 2016)

This piano primer is one aspect of the “Lang Lang International Music Foundation,” founded in 2008. In the prospectus, we read: “We believe that all children should have access to music and music education, regardless of their background or circumstances.”

“At the Lang Lang International Music Foundation®, we strive to educate, inspire, and motivate the next generation of music lovers and performers. By igniting a child’s passion for music, we are helping children worldwide aim for a better future.”   

A Teacher’s Legacy

Gary Graffman and Lang Lang

If we’re talking about superstar branding versus artistic philanthropy, we should also remember that Lang Lang received much of his musical training from his much-revered teacher, Gary Graffman, who recently passed away. Teaching Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, and other highly talented Asian youngsters, Graffman didn’t simply teach them to play the piano. Rather, he also instilled in them a sense of giving back to the community.

Graffman was a strong advocate of the arts and arts education, and a few years ago, he wrote something that now feels almost prophetic. “I’d like to add that this diminishment of ALL education in the USA over two generations might help to explain, and perhaps even partially excuse, the uninformed utterances emanating from the mouths of too many of our elected representatives, as well as their complete lack of knowledge or interest in anything to do with the arts.”

“In fact, it would not be at all surprising if many of those representatives who received our typical public education during the last four or five decades have hardly ever, if at all, chosen to visit an art museum or to attend an opera, the ballet or a symphony concert.” (Graffman, Slipped Disc, 2015)  

Inspiration Versus Instruction

Lang Lang with young piano students

I believe that the “Lang Lang Piano Academy” and the “Lang Lang International Music Foundation” are some of the clearest legacies of Gary Graffman’s teaching influence. The Lang Lang Piano Method is probably not the pedagogical blueprint to build Lang Lang clones, but if it inspires more young people to develop a lasting curiosity about music and the arts, we should probably welcome the contribution.

In the reviews by users, the series is called accessible, with specific praise for the Time for a Break audio sections, where Lang Lang plays music purely for its enjoyment value. Some teachers use the books to supplement their usual books, while some teachers are highly resistant to the online/downloadable nature of the project.

And if I personally never have to see Lang Lang perform again, it’s wonderful to see him engaging with young players. We can’t continue to let our classical audiences grey out the attendance; we need to get young students to feel the excitement of music.

As for its pedagogical effectiveness, I will leave that to professional piano teachers to decide.

When Sokolov Listens The Rise of Alexandra Dovgan (Born on July 1, 2007)

 by Georg Predota  July 1st, 2026

The Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan had already collected five competition victories by the age of thirteen, receiving her technical and musical training under Mira Marchenko at Moscow’s Central Music School.

Beyond prizes and accolades, Dovgan has also attracted the attention of Grigory Sokolov, who became an important artistic mentor and advocate. To celebrate Dovgan’s birthday on 1 July, let’s explore the artistic connection between the famously private Sokolov and one of the most compelling young pianists of her generation.

Alexandra Dovgan   

El País Semanal features on Sokolov and Dovgan

Alexandra Dovgan

The most comprehensive and well-researched account of the connection between Grigory Sokolov and Alexandra Dovgan comes from the Spanish author and journalist Jesús Ruiz Mantilla. He regularly publishes interviews, reports, profiles, and music criticism.

Ruiz also has a literary career, having published eight novels, essays, plays, and poems. In a weekend feature for El País, a major Spanish newspaper, Ruiz traces the artistic transmission between generations of Russian pianism by focusing on the almost mythical Sokolov and the exceptionally mature young pianist Alexandra Dovgan. (Mantilla, “Grigori Sokolov y Alexandra Dovgan,” El Pais Semanal 2021)  

First Encounter

Alexandra Dovgan and Grigory Sokolov

Apparently, Sokolov became aware of Dovgan when he was invited to look at a number of videos featuring new talents. While he typically listens to only a piece or two, in Dovgan’s case, he continued for nearly two hours.

Sokolov explained, “It’s not that I think the others were worse, but in her case, I discovered a link that connects her musical world with mine.” Sokolov wanted to meet her, and since then, they have exchanged ideas.

These meetings aren’t lessons, as Dovgan has her own teachers who train her exceptionally well, but according to Sokolov, it’s an “exchange between two colleagues.” Sokolov is a famously solitary man, devoted like a monk to his own constant refinement, so it is highly unusual for him to dedicate time to engage with other pianists.  

In Dialogue

Alexandra Dovgan at the piano

They first met in Amsterdam and barely exchanged a few words, but during their second meeting, they focused on understanding the instrument they would be playing. They discussed the age, the makers, and the materials of the piano, connecting the body and soul of the instrument to the expression of music.

They also considered the concept of tempo in compositions, and Dovgan recalled that “the maestro told her that she must be honest in every circumstance. Not only as a person and as a performer, but also that she must be very careful and faithful to the scores, and must thoroughly study the tempos.”

This, according to Sokolov, is where the magic of music lies and how he manages to hold the audience’s attention. “It’s about bringing music created in another time into this era and making it seem as if it’s being conceived in that very moment.”  

Sokolov’s endorsement of Dovgan

Alexandra Dovgan

Sokolov also introduced Dovgan to his longtime manager and producer, Franco Panozzo. He played him a sound recording of Dovgan’s performance of the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, and Panozzo reportedly concluded that it was performed by a great artist.

He then showed him the video of the 12-year-old Dovgan, and Panozzo was speechless and immediately signed her. Sokolov still refuses to grant interviews about himself, but he has nothing but praise for Dovgan.

“At 13, she can hardly be called a child prodigy, because while she is a prodigy, it’s not child’s play. What one hears when watching her is the performance of an adult. It is a special pleasure for me to commend the artistry of her remarkable music teacher, Mira Marchenko. However, there are some things that cannot be taught or learned. Alexandra Dovgan’s talent is exceptionally harmonious. Her playing is honest and focused. I predict a great future for her.”

On This Day 3 July: Carlos Kleiber Was Born

 by Georg Predota  July 3rd, 2023

For a good number of commentators and experts, Carlos Kleiber, born on 3 July 1930 in Berlin, is regarded as among the greatest conductors of all time. “His gifts are musical and dramatic insight, analytical abilities, technique, and his methods of explaining himself make him the greatest conductor of our day.” Plácido Domingo relates, “When I work with him, I feel that he knows why the composer wrote every note, treated every phrase, conceived of every bit of orchestral color in a particular way.”

Carlos Kleiber as a boy

Carlos was the son of the eminent Austrian conductor Erich Kleiber and his American wife Ruth Goodrich. The family emigrated to Buenos Aires in 1935, and it was soon becoming obvious that young Carlos had exceptional musical talents. A biographer writes, “Carlos had an extremely brilliant mentality, that freedom, spontaneity. He was an ideal youth, who was enormously gifted. Something extraordinary.” His father, however, actively discouraged his son from pursuing a musical career. As he once wrote to a friend, “I am longing to see one of my son’s compositions, what a pity the boy is musically talented.”   

By all accounts, Erich Kleiber was “gigantically vain, who felt that he never had the worldwide esteem he deserved, and he was extremely sensitive about comparisons with other conductors, including his son.” Carlos described his mother as “a very strong woman, and very protective of her husband. Nothing could come between them, even the children.”

Carlos Kleiber and his mother

His sister Veronica remembered, “our mother confessed to me later that when Carlos was born, he was small and she thought that he wouldn’t survive because he was so weak and skinny. However, as a little person, he was very strong-willed, and he liked to give orders.” A colleague remembered that “Carlos had a Lady Macbeth of a mother,” which greatly contributed to his insecurity. After giving a masterful performance of the Rosenkavalier in Munich, everybody went backstage to congratulate him. That evening Kleiber was conducting with the score, and to everybody’s embarrassment, his mother commented, “I thought you knew this score!”  

At a very young age, Carlos declared that he wanted to compose something. “He was wonderful at learning, both languages and anything else, and he learned musical notation from his mother.” Proudly he announced, “Now I am going to try and see what I can compose.” After spending years of Nazi terror in Argentina, the Kleiber family was free to return to Europe after WWII. However, Carlos was only fifteen and the family wanted him to finish high school. In addition, Carlos traveled widely with his father, “serving as amanuensis and valet.”

The Kleiber family

It was in late 1948 that Carlos made his professional debut in the orchestra pit, but not as a conductor. Apparently, he was playing second timpani in a performance of Götterdämmerung conducted by his father. At the age of 19, Carlos, with the permission of his father, moved to Zurich. In fact, Erich Kleiber “forced his son to Zurich and into chemistry,” and Carlos studied for a semester and a half at the Technische Hochschule. A family friend writes, “It was an uneasy fit. Carlos had a brilliant mind for learning, but little interest in chemistry.”   

Erich Kleiber was not pleased and asserted “that Carlos was wasting time, and he brought him home to Buenos Aires.” Sensing that music was becoming increasingly important for his son, Erich decreed, “that Carlos would study theory and harmony.” Yet, Carlos was not really interested in piano and harmony, and he probably didn’t study analysis or counterpoint either. Carlos did not have absolute pitch, “but his relative pitch was speedy and reliable.” He started to learn how to read scores, and quickly taught himself to read scores at an unusually speedy and high level.

Carlos Kleiber in 1987

A biographer writes, “the standard lore is that he made some sort of debut as a conductor around 1952 in South America.” There is no corroborating evidence for that particular claim, and Carlos was deliberately vague about his early conducting experiences. It might well be that he wanted to suggest a level of prior experience before he started his career in Europe. However, Charles Barber has proposed a very sensible alternative explanation. “As with his multiple languages and his vast command of literature and poetry, Carlos was an autodidact, who was almost wholly self-taught. As a conductor, he was his own creation.”

Carl Maria von Weber - Beyond the Operatic Legend

 by Georg Predota  June 5th, 2026

Carl Maria von Weber’s (1786-1826) life and career are inexorably connected to his opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman). When it was first produced in Berlin in June 1821, the musical world was stunned, as he had created a work that seemed to embody the restless spirit of the young Romantic Movement.

The resounding success of Der Freischütz changed the composer, and it also placed this particular opera at the centre of his output. This has come at the expense of Weber’s other remarkable achievements in his richly varied output.

Carl Maria von Weber died on 5 June 1826, and since his biography and Der Freischütz have been examined in considerable detail, let us focus on the composer and the wealth of music beyond the operatic stage that deserves to be heard with more frequency.  

A Composer Takes Shape

Caroline Bardua: Portrait of Carl Maria von Weber

In contrast to Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, Weber, the composer, is not really well understood. Well into the 20th century, critical editions of his works, his diaries, correspondence, and writings still did not exist. In addition, most of the music composed before 1802 had also been lost.

Weber was a declared admirer of Mozart and, in fact, related to him, while Haydn seemed to have played a lesser role. During his time in Vienna in 1803-4 he made significant contact with the music of Beethoven and with the opéras comiques of Cherubini, Méhul, Dalayrac, and others.

Also during his time in Vienna, the famed Abbé Vogler taught him harmony, part-writing, and sparked an enduring interest in folk and exotic music. As Michael Tusa writes, “From that time on Weber’s development as a composer was essentially one of constant growth and maturation with no obvious breaks or periods in terms of style or compositional approach.” (Tusa, GMO, 2001)

Unlike Beethoven, Weber seemed to have destroyed most of his preliminary drafts, so it is difficult to gain a clear picture of his decision-making processes. He did borrow ideas from his earlier compositions, and occasionally we find his own comments about composition and aesthetics.  

Brilliance at the Keyboard

Carl Maria von Weber, 1814 (painting by Thomas Lawrence)

Carl Maria von Weber composed instrumental music throughout his life, ranging from the Six Fughettas of 1798 to his 4th Piano Sonata in 1822. We find most major genres of the early 19th century represented, excepting the string quartet and the piano trio.

Weber was an exceptional pianist, and the piano concertos, several variation sets, and the Rondo brillante are directly related to his public performances. In addition, he successfully composed in the newer genres of concert dances for solo piano and concertante works for soloist and orchestra.   

Salon and Concert Hall

Although full of technical challenges, the piano sonatas were designed for private performance, and his contracts with virtuosos led to a number of works, including the concerto written for Baermann and the clarinet. His symphonies and overtures figured prominently into his conducting activities, and most of the surviving chamber music was also composed for public performance.

Weber wrote comparatively little for the fast-growing amateur market, as we find only three sets of four-hand music and six sonatas for violin and piano. We also find a Divertimento for guitar and piano, a set of variations on a gypsy theme, and the “Invitation to the Dance” for solo piano.

The famous “Konzertstück” for piano and orchestra, and the Grand pot-pourri for cello and orchestra, are unusual alternatives to the traditional three-movement concerto, and they might well have been tied to a specific poetic conception.  

Poetry and Song

Ferdinand Schimon: Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber composed roughly 85 Lieder and Gesänge, primarily setting texts of poets with whom he had personal connections. Among his settings of folk poetry, it is not surprising to find excerpts from the Wunderhorn collection.

His German songs do not attempt the depth and intensity of expression we associate with Schubert and later Romantics, but they aim to entertain through wit, sentiment, or poems about the opposite sex.   

Words and Music

We also find songs on the nature of the human condition, and patriotic texts that project the feelings of a well-defined protagonist. “His views on the nature of the lied conventionally emphasize the primacy of the poem and the resultant need for correct declamation and close relationship between verbal and musical syntax.”

Yet he once confided that “the character and inner life of the words occasionally overruled the demands of strict prosody.” (Tusa, GMO, 2001) While Weber is frequently considered a conservative exponent of the genre, Weber’s songs actually demonstrate a remarkably wide variety of formal approaches.   

Dreaming of Italy

Carl Maria von Weber consistently hoped to travel to Italy, and as a result, composed a couple of settings in Italian. Most noteworthy are a number of concert arias written for specific singers, and an Italian cantata composed for a royal wedding in Dresden.

He also composed a large number of ensemble pieces, both with and without piano accompaniment. Duets, trios, and songs with choral refrains occasionally appear in the published song and folksong collections. His most famous choral pieces are six songs for a cappella male chorus, pieces that first accorded Weber widespread acclaim.   

Music for Church and Stage

Carl Maria von Weber

Weber composed a substantial number of cantatas and cantata-like pieces, many with religious overtones and celebratory character. Although a devout Catholic who frequently conducted liturgical music, his output of sacred music is small. We only find three complete settings of the Roman Mass.

Between 1809 and 1822, Weber composed music for the spoken theatre and specific productions of long-forgotten plays. Most important is his musical contribution to P. A. Wolff’s Preciosa, commissioned and composed in 1820. The play calls for an unusually large amount of music to characterise the opposed Spanish and gypsy elements in the drama and to take advantage of the singing and dancing talents of the lead actor.

“The play (with Weber’s music) rivalled the popularity of Der Freischütz in the Dresden repertory and was widely disseminated, but with the disappearance of Wolff’s play from the stage Weber’s music has also largely vanished from public consciousness.

Between Enlightenment and Romanticism

Carl Maria von Weber lived in tumultuous times, marked by war, social change, and intellectual upheaval. Like many musicians of his day, he relied extensively on patronage and simultaneously saw the emerging middle-class public as an important stimulus for his art. However, he never composed in a purely commercial manner but attempted to educate this new audience to a higher standard of appreciation.

Scholars have recently questioned Weber’s supposed role as the leading exponent of early Romanticism in music, as the triumphant conclusions of his large-scale vocal and instrumental works have little in common with Romantic alienation, irony, and ambivalence.

Michael Tusa finds, “His works betray a consciousness rooted in Enlightenment optimism and shaped by the Biedermeier desire to restore order to a world shaken by a generation of revolution and war.”

A Legacy Rediscovered

Carl Maria von Weber (cigarette trading card)

While Weber’s life and personality, not to mention his international career, resist narrow nationalist interpretations, he nevertheless became a potent symbol of German musical culture.

His influence on later composers was widespread, as he left his mark on Meyerbeer, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt. And according to one study, he helped Berlioz to find his own way to originality.

As Weber’s reputation gradually faded, much of his music disappeared from the repertory. He was overshadowed by Wagner in opera and by Beethoven as the paradigm of instrumental music, while Schubert overshadowed him in the lied.

Still, Weber never entirely disappeared, and his most passionate advocates in the 20th century turned out to be Debussy and Stravinsky, both recognising qualities in Weber’s music that fashion and historiography had dismissed.

Chamber Music by Women Composers Schumann, Lebrun, Bond, Boulanger, and Carreño

By Georg Predota

Franz von Lenbach: Clara Schumann

Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) confided in her diary, “a woman must not wish to compose—there never was one able to do it. Am I intended to be the one? It would be arrogant to believe that.” Her husband Robert was supportive of Clara’s creative efforts, but his opinion on her role was inflexible. “To have children and a husband,” he writes, “who is always living in the realms of imagination do not go together with composing. She cannot work at it regularly and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out. But Clara herself knows her main occupation is a mother, and I believe she is happy in the circumstance and would not want them changed.”

Clara and Robert Schumann

Such attitudes have actively discouraged or even barred women from pursuing careers as composers for a very long time. It forced Clara Schumann, one of the most talented and distinguished composer-pianist of the 19th century into a “struggle for self-assertion and survival amidst competition, personal disappointments, devastating sorrow, and the challenges of managing both family and career.” Yet despite these obstacles, Clara and other women have persisted in writing music, and their achievements have been hiding in plain sight for centuries. Music by women composers, living or dead, was rarely heard in major concert events. Thankfully this embarrassing situation is gradually changing, and we decided to advance this matter by showcasing some of the most exiting chamber music compositions written by women. Let’s get started with the G-minor Piano Trio, Clara Schumann’s best-known compositions. Composed in 1846, it is her masterpiece and sadly one of the few multi-movement works in her catalogue.  

Thomas Gainsborough: Franziska Danzi Lebrun

Franziska Danzi Lebrun (1756-1791) came from a highly talented musical family. Her mother Barbara Sidonia Margaretha Toeschi was a professional dancer and her father Innocenz Danzi a renowned cellist working at the Mannheim court. Her brothers Franz and Johann Baptist, in turn, were professional instrumentalists and successful composers. Franziska was trained as an operatic soprano, and she first publically appeared at the age of 16. Shortly thereafter, she was engaged by the Mannheim opera and highly sought after for her vocal dexterity. Contemporary composers such as Anton Schweitzer, Ignaz Holzbauer, and Antonio Salieri would cast her in leading roles in their most challenging operas. In 1778, Franziska married the composer and oboist of the Mannheim orchestra Ludwig August Lebrun. The couple frequently appeared in concert together, and played in Milan and Paris.

She sang on major operatic and concert stages throughout Europe to great acclaim, and the writer C.F.D. Schubart asserted that she could sing “A, three octaves above middle C with clarity and distinctness.” The family traveled to London in 1779, where Francisca sang at the King’s Theatre in operas by J.C. Bach and Sacchini. Her impact in London was such that the celebrated artist Thomas Gainsborough painted her portrait. However, her talents extended far beyond the stage to keyboard performance and music composition. That includes twelve sonatas for harpsichord with violin accompaniment published as her opus 1 and opus 2. First issued in London between 1779 and 1781, further editions were prepared in Paris and a number of German cities. Although not revolutionary, these charming chamber music compositions provide a delicious taste of mid to late 18th century musical taste. And did you notice that she shares her birth and death year with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?  

Victoria Bond

Victoria Bond (b. 1945) is an acclaimed composer, conductor, lecturer, and the artistic director of “Cutting Edge Concerts.” Major publications call her compositions “powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding,” and her conducting “impassioned and full of energy and fervor.” In 2019, the Berlin Philharmonic Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany premiered Bond’s opera Clara, based on the life of composer and pianist Clara Schumann. The German press wrote: “Victoria Bond gives each character a three-dimensional role, enriched with original musical colors.” Thus far, Bond has composed eight operas, six ballets, two piano concertos and numerous orchestral, chamber, choral and keyboard compositions. Victoria Bond is the first woman awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School, and she has served with countless national and international symphony and chamber orchestras.

Victoria Bond

“Dancing on Glass” is based on the Chinese folksong Liu Yang River. It originates from Hunan Province and was a favorite of street musicians who often sang it accompanied by a drum. It also became the melody of a famous patriotic song celebrating Hunan’s most famous citizen, Mao Zedong. The song makes reference to the nine turns that the Liu Yang River makes before it flows into a lake. As such, the piece “is divided into nine sections, consisting of three solos, three duets and three trios.” According to the composer, “the title derives from the dance of light on the surface of the glass-like river. The sections flow into each other without a break, reflecting the changing character of the river.”  

Nadia and Lili Boulanger sisters, 1913

For a very long time, the famous Prix de Rome competition was closed to women. Only in 1903 did the Education Minister Joseph Chaumié make the surprise announcement at a press dinner that the Prix de Rome would be open to women from that year. This unexpected announcement took the “Académie” by complete surprise, and they mercilessly schemed to prevent women from receiving that coveted prize. After her sister Nadia gave up her attempts to win the Prix de Rome, Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) decided to compete for the prize. She studied privately and at the Conservatoire, and after an unsuccessful first attempt in the 1912 competition, she won the Prix de Rome in 1913. She was the first woman to win the prize for music, and her success made international headlines. As the local press wrote, “The suffragettes smash windows and burn houses, but a maiden of France has gained a much better victory.”

Lili Boulanger

Already in early childhood, Lili fell ill with bronchial pneumonia, and she was almost constantly ill for the rest of her life. “Her frail health conditioned her life, through the need of constant care, and her musical career, as she had to rely on private composition and instrumental tuition rather than a full musical education.” But while her dependence on others was often overwhelming, she did enjoy complete intellectual and artistic autonomy. Lily once wrote, “I feel discouraged … not because of the suffering, not because of boredom, but because I understand that I would never be able to have in me the feeling that I have done what I would like to do, but what I have to do, since I cannot follow whatever it is with being interrupted for a long time so that my efforts cannot be sustained!” Lili did compose over 50 works, and her “D’un soir triste” exists in two fabulous versions: one for violin or flute and piano, the other for cello and piano.

Teresa Carreño

Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) originally hailed from Caracas, Venezuela, but her family moved to New York in 1862. Teresa had a highly ambitious father, and she demonstrated extraordinary talent for piano performance, improvisation, and composition. She became a student of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and was playing before President Abraham Lincoln at the White House when she was ten years old. The family moved to Paris in 1866, and Carreño played for Franz Liszt. He told the young prodigy, “My dear little Teresita, God has surely given you the greatest gift of all, that of genius. Work, develop your talents, but above all stay true to yourself, and in time you will be one of us.” Carreño performed in concerts throughout the world, and she was “among the first female pianists to tour the United States.”

Carreño served as a role model for new generations of American women who entered musical life as professional performers and composers. In fact, Carreño composed approximately 80 works that mostly date from the early stages of her career. She included them in her concerts, and “they reflect the influence of the style of virtuoso composers, especially Gottschalk, along with an assimilation of Venezuelan rhythmic and formal elements.” Although she mainly composed for the piano, Carreño did approach larger forms in her serenade for string orchestra and her delightful String Quartet in B minor. A scholar writes, “ In 1896, Teresa Carreño, the famous piano virtuosa composed a string quartet which shows a thoroughly sound grasp of quartet technique and style, Particularly praiseworthy is the concise construction of each of the four movements… From the time of its first appearance, this Quartet has received considerable notice.”

Please join us next time for more chamber music composed by women, including works by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Julia Frances Smith, Germaine Tailleferre, Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen, and Mélanie Bonis.