Montgeroult: 6 Etudes for Piano
Ian Buckle Piano

Montgeroult was a pioneer and a survivor. One of the founder members of the Paris Conservatoire, she was a key figure in the development of the piano and piano technique in the early romantic period. She became the institution’s first professor of piano. Montgeroult studied with Jan Ladislav Dussek, one of the most important composer pianists of the late 18th century. She was the long time duo partner of violin virtuoso and composer Giovanni Battista Viotti with who she toured Europe extensively. Prior to this she was married to an Austrian nobleman who died at the hands of Napoleonic forces whilst imprisoned. Montgeroult herself was put on trial in Paris and escaped the guillotine after impressing the Committee for Public Safety with her improvisation on ‘La Marseillaise’. Her Etudes, 114 in total, influenced the Mendelssohns, Schumanns and Chopin. She also partnered virtuosos such as Kreutzer and Baillot.