Wanda Landowska |

Wanda Landowska

Polish harpsichordist, pianist, composer, musicologist. She studied with J. Kleczynski and A. Michalovsky (piano) at the Institute of Music in Warsaw, from 1896 – with G. Urban (composition) in Berlin. In 1900-1913 she lived in Paris and taught at the Schola Cantorum. She made her debut as a harpsichordist in Paris, and began touring in 1906. In 1907, 1909 and 1913 she performed in Russia (she also played in Leo Tolstoy’s house in Yasnaya Polyana). Devoting herself to performing and studying music of the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly harpsichord music, she acted as a lecturer, published a number of studies, promoted the music of harpsichordists, and played an instrument specially designed according to her instructions (made in 1912 by the Pleyel firm). In 1913-19 she led the harpsichord class created for her at the Higher School of Music in Berlin. She taught a course of higher mastery of playing the harpsichord in Basel and Paris. In 1925, in Saint-Leu-la-Foret (near Paris), she founded the School of Early Music (with a collection of ancient musical instruments), which attracted students and listeners from different countries. In 1940 she emigrated, from 1941 she worked in the USA (first in New York, from 1947 in Lakeville).

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Landowska became famous mainly as a harpsichordist and researcher of early music. Her name is associated with a revival of interest in harpsichord music and ancient keyboard instruments. Concertos for harpsichord and orchestra by M. de Falla (1926) and F. Poulenc (1929) were written for her and dedicated to her. World fame brought Landowske numerous concert tours (also as a pianist) in Europe, Asia, Africa, North. and Yuzh. America and a huge number of recordings (in 1923-59 Landowski performed works by J. S. Bach, including 2 volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier, all 2-voice inventions, Goldberg variations; works by F. Couperin, J. F. Rameau, D. Scarlatti, J. Haydn, W. A. ​​Mozart, F. Chopin and others). Landowska is the author of orchestral and piano pieces, choirs, songs, cadenzas to concertos by W. A. ​​Mozart and J. Haydn, piano transcriptions of dances by F. Schubert (landler suite), J. Liner, Mozart.