Obscure Music Monday: Carreño's La Fausse Note
Maria Teresa Carreño Garcia de Sena (Dec. 22, 1853 - June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, singer, conductor, and composer. Born in to a musical family, she became known around he world as a virtuoso pianist, often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the piano".
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Carreño started music lessons at a young age with her father. In 1862, her family emigrated to New York City, where not long after giving many private and public concerts, Carreño met composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, who promoted her playing. Carreño would go on to play up and down the east coast, and even performed for Abraham Lincoln at the White House. In 1866 Carreño and her family left the United States and traveled to Paris, France, where she met many composers, such as Rossini, Gounod, and Liszt, and began taking voice lessons with Rossini. During her time in Paris she traveled to give recitals in the United Kingdom, France and Spain, and also sang opera. She returned the US and Venezuela and the back to Europe several times, fully established as a formidable pianist, soloing with orchestras and giving recitals.
Her compositional output contains works for piano, voice and piano, chamber music, and works for choir and orchestra. La Fausse Note (The Wrong Note) is a fun waltz for piano a little under five minutes. There are grace notes throughout the piece that at times seem to not exactly fit the chords (hence the title) but rather than sounding completely out of place, they add a fun whimsicalness to the music. It makes for charming listening, and no doubt fun for the pianist!
We unfortunately can't find a recording for this, but hopefully that will change in the future!
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