Composer of the Week: Montgeroult

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Composer of the Week

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An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836): Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors

Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836)

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836), Behind Closed Doors

Donald Macleod explores the twists and turns of Montgeroult’s private life.

Donald Macleod continues his 'Tour de France' in a week exploring, revolutionary French composer Hélène de Montgeroult. Today, the twists and turns of her private life.

Donald Macleod continues the second leg of his “Tour de France"; three weeks focused on French composers from different eras, running alongside the famous French cycle race.  This week, Donald introduces us to the remarkable life story and unsung musical innovations of Hélène de Montgeroult.

There aren’t many composers who can claim that music saved their life – at least, in the literal sense. But for Hélène de Montgeroult, it was her astounding powers of improvisation that got her out of the stickiest situation imaginable, hauled in front of the guillotine during the French Revolution. This week, we’ll follow her rollercoaster tale and hear how she had her own revolutionary impact on the piano literature. Described as a precursor of Romanticism, anticipating the language of Schubert and Mendelssohn, audiences said her playing “made the keys speak”. She broke ground as the first female professor at the Paris Conservatoire and left behind 600 pages of music, including a complete course for piano which elevated the technical study into a miniature lyrical art form. As Donald pieces together her tantalising story, he’s joined by pianist Clare Hammond, who has spent recent years getting to know Montgeroult and recording an album of her études.

Today, Donald explores the twist and turns of Hélène’s private life, from her illegitimate son, who was possibly conceived in prison, to her three marriages and her not-so-secret affair with the Baron of Tremont. Plus, Donald and Clare talk about how intimacy was central to her music-making, which mainly took place in private spheres.

Etude No 26 in G major
Ian Buckle, piano

Etude No 73 in D major
Luca Chiantore, piano

Fugue No 1 in F minor
Edna Stern, piano

Fugue No 3 in G minor
Bruno Robilliard, piano

Etudes No 110 in A major and 112b in A flat major 
Nicolas Stavy, piano

Sonata in A minor, Op 2 No 3
Nicolas Horvath, piano

Etude No 106 in B major
Clare Hammond, piano


Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Cardiff

Composer of the Week: Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836)

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod surveys the life of French composer and pianist Hélène de Montgeroult.

Donald Macleod surveys the life of French composer, pianist and teacher Hélène de Montgeroult, the first professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire when it opened in 1795.

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