Noble Beginnings

Available for 28 days

This week, Donald introduces us to the remarkable life story and unsung musical innovations of Hélène de Montgeroult. There aren’t many composers who can claim that music saved their life – at least, in the literal sense. But for Hélène de Montgeroult, it was her astounding powers of improvisation that got her out of the stickiest situation imaginable, hauled in front of the guillotine during the French Revolution. This week, we’ll follow her rollercoaster tale and hear how she had her own revolutionary impact on the piano literature. Described as a precursor of Romanticism, anticipating the language of Schubert and Mendelssohn, audiences said her playing “made the keys speak”. She broke ground as the first female professor at the Paris Conservatoire and left behind 600 pages of music, including a complete course for piano which elevated the technical study into a miniature lyrical artform. As Donald pieces together her tantalising story, he’s joined by pianist Clare Hammond, who has spent recent years getting to know Montgeroult and recording an album of her études. Today, we hear about Hélène’s early years, growing up in aristocratic circles. For young women, the harpsichord was wielded as a tool for courtship, but for Helene, her musical prospects immediately ran deeper. Little did she know then that her noble background would eventually become one of her biggest artistic obstacles and would even someday put her life in danger. Etude No 66 in C minor Bruno Robilliard, piano Etude No 101 in C sharp major Laurent Martin, piano Sonata in E flat, Op 1 No 2 Nicolas Horvath, piano Sonata in D major, Op 5 No 1 (1st mvt – Allegro spirituoso) Hiroaki Takenouchi, piano Sonata in A minor, Op 2 No 3 (2nd mvt - Adagio) Sophie Rosa, violin Ian Buckle, piano Etude No 38 in A minor Clare Hammond, piano Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Cardiff