Louise Farrenc came from a long family line of noted painters and sculptors, so maybe it should be no surprise she would be an artistic titan herself.
Born Louise Dumont in Paris in 1804 she studied piano with virtuosos Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, at 15 began composition lessons with Paris Conservatoire professor Antoine Reicha (privately, of course, since women were not allowed to attend at that time), and married a surprisingly supportive fellow musician, flutist Aristide Farrenc. They had a long collaborative relationship, including concert tours and founding one of France’s leading publishing houses.
At first she primarily published works for her own instrument, but expanded into orchestral and chamber music in the 1830s and ‘40s. And to good notice: composer and critic Robert Schumann praised her Air russe varié as, “so sure in outline, so logical in development … that one must fall under (it’s) charm.”
The Conservatoire, where she once could not attend classes, appointed Farrenc Professor of Piano in 1842, a position she held until she retired in 1873… the only woman to hold such a position in Europe during the 19th century. She wrote an influential text on early performance practice, and her students consistently won first prizes.
For all of that she still struggled to have her works performed, and to earn a fair wage, only achieving equal pay with her male colleagues after the hugely successful premiere of her Nonet.
Louise Farrenc… a Composing Woman.
Timeline
- May 31st 1804 - Born in Paris
- 1819 - Began training in composition and orchestration with Reicha at the Paris Conservatoire
- 1821 - Got married
Repertoire
Sextet in c minor for winds and piano, op. 40
Symphony no. 3 in g minor, op. 36
Nonet, op. 38
Cello sonata in B flat major, op. 46Nocturne in E flat major, op. 49
Air russe varié, op. 17
