Magda Tagliaferro
Encyclopedia
Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro (19 January 18939 September 1986) was a Brazilian-born pianist of French
extraction. Born in Petropolis, Brazil, she studied under Antonin Marmontel and Alfred Cortot
. She developed a reputation for striving towards the realization of the musical ideals exemplified by Cortot: a perfect union of clarity and tenderness, inner strength and emotion, and classical balance in shaping the works being interpreted.
Tagliaferro's expertise at the piano in French repertoire led Gabriel Fauré
to request that she tour with him frequently, and she performed many of his compositions
. Throughout her long career, her recital engagements took her to the musical centers of more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. She was also very active as a soloist
performing with celebrated orchestra
s. Tagliaferro appeared with the elite of 20th century conductors, among them Weingartner
, Dobroven, Monteux, Furtwängler
, Knappertsbusch, Paray, d'Indy, Inghelbrecht
, Ionescu-Galati and Georgescu. Other solo artists, such as Cortot, Thibaud, Enescu, and Casals
, performed with her in joint recitals. Composers sought her for premieres of their works, sometimes specifically intending that Tagliaferro be the first artist to perform the piece. She, in turn, applied herself to performing new works by composers such as Hahn
, Rivier
, Pierné, and Villa-Lobos.
Tagliaferro maintained a critically acclaimed capacity for beautifully crafted playing into her nineties. She died in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
extraction. Born in Petropolis, Brazil, she studied under Antonin Marmontel and Alfred Cortot
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
. She developed a reputation for striving towards the realization of the musical ideals exemplified by Cortot: a perfect union of clarity and tenderness, inner strength and emotion, and classical balance in shaping the works being interpreted.
Tagliaferro's expertise at the piano in French repertoire led Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
to request that she tour with him frequently, and she performed many of his compositions
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. Throughout her long career, her recital engagements took her to the musical centers of more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. She was also very active as a soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
performing with celebrated orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s. Tagliaferro appeared with the elite of 20th century conductors, among them Weingartner
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Dobroven, Monteux, Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, Knappertsbusch, Paray, d'Indy, Inghelbrecht
Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht
Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht was a French composer, conductor and writer.- Life and career :Inghelbrecht was born in Paris, the son of a viola-player. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut as a conductor in 1908 at the Théâtre des Arts.Inghelbrecht entered the Conservatoire aged 7...
, Ionescu-Galati and Georgescu. Other solo artists, such as Cortot, Thibaud, Enescu, and Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, performed with her in joint recitals. Composers sought her for premieres of their works, sometimes specifically intending that Tagliaferro be the first artist to perform the piece. She, in turn, applied herself to performing new works by composers such as Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
, Rivier
Jean Rivier
Jean Rivier was a French composer of classical music.He composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments....
, Pierné, and Villa-Lobos.
Tagliaferro maintained a critically acclaimed capacity for beautifully crafted playing into her nineties. She died in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil.