Hélène de Montgeroult was a student of Clementi in Paris. She survived the French Revolution – during which, as an aristocrat, her life was in grave danger – to become a celebrated pianist, composer and author of a famous piano method. Her compositional language in these nine sonatas is wide and includes Italianate models as well as elements that reflect the influence of Haydn and Mozart, with chromatic and surprising harmonies, contrasts of register, chorale-like nobility and brilliantly athletic finales. Featuring several world première recordings, these sonatas represent a major contribution to the French repertoire of the late Classical and early Romantic periods.
"Collected here for the first time in one recording, the nine sonatas of the distinguished pianist, composer, and teacher Hélène de Montgeroult represent a major contribution to the rich French piano repertoire of the late Classic and early Romantic periods. She was influential in the development of the expressive cantabile style of the 19th century, not only as a performer and composer but also as the author of a celebrated piano method. She was a participant in regularly scheduled musical gatherings in the homes of wealthy music lovers, where she performed music with amateurs and internationally known professional musicians, French and foreign. Through the influential network of the musical and social elite her exceptional skills became widely known. The Revolution destroyed much of this world and Montgeroult herself was in mortal danger during the Terror as an aristocrat. Her life was saved by the founder of the Institut National de Musique (later the Conservatoire de Paris), who convinced the Revolutionary Tribunal that she was indispensable to the school as one of France’s greatest pianists. Many of the sonatas are world premiere recordings, and I hope you find these great visionary and virtuoso works as delightful as I did”. (Nicolas Horvath)
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