Hélène de Montgeroult: Sonata Op. 2, n.3 for Fortepiano, Violin Accompaniment, Cello Ad Libitum

Описание: Assai Ad Libitum Presents
“The Great Fear:” Musical Exiles of the French Revolution
Patricia Garcia Gil, fortepiano
Ryan Lowe, violoncello
Sophie Genevieve Lowe, violin

Trois Sonates pour le Forte Piano Op. 2 (Published in 1803)………Hélène de Montgeroult
(1764- 1836)
Sonata No. III for Fortepiano, Violin Accompaniment, and Cello Ad Libitum
I. Agitato assai
II. Adagio
III. Vivace con espressione

Hélène de Montgeroult (1764- 1836) was born in Lyon. In 1784 she married the Marquis de Montgeroult and moved to the Paris region. As an aristocrat she played in salons more than in public but was a great celebrity.

The French Revolution brought distress to the composer, and although she sympathized with the new ideas, she did not adhere to their radicalization. After various attempts to flee and the murder of her husband, she was called before the judges of the revolutionary court between 1793 and 94. They commanded her to play the Marseillaise on their piano, which of course she was able to execute with grace, to survive the guillotine.
Helped by the Committee of Teaching Inspectors of the Paris Conservatory, she was released and became a professor of the men’s piano class when the institution was founded in 1795, although resigned 3 years later. She then taught at her salon, where she invited the greatest musicians of her time. Her composition style was ahead of her time: the music is romantic, sensitive, and expressive, and sometimes full of turmoil; she used unusual and bold harmonic progressions and inventive piano idioms. Eventually she felt like leaving France once more, and settled in Florence, Italy, where she is buried.