Unsilenced

Donald Macleod continues the second leg of his “Tour de France"; three weeks focused on French composers from different eras, running alongside the famous French cycle race. 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 art form. 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, Donald and Clare chat about Hélène’s musical imprint and how she’s now being brought back from obscurity, having all but disappeared from the story of French music. We hear about the scandal of her exit from the Paris Conservatoire, and how her pedagogical piano method may have had something to do with it. They dig deeper into her magnum opus, and discuss what her astonishing music has to offer to players and listeners today.

Etude No 62 in E flat major
Clare Hammond, piano

Fantaisie in G minor
Bruno Robilliard, piano

Sonata in C major, Op 2 No 2
Nicolas Horvath, piano

Etude No 112a in E flat major, and 112c in F minor
Nicolas Stavy, piano

Etude No 111 in G minor
Clare Hammond, piano

Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Cardiff