Landowska, Wanda

Landowska, Wanda (vän'dä ländôf'skä) [key], 1879–1959, Polish-French harpsichordist and pianist, studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. She taught piano (1900–1912) at the Schola Cantorum, Paris, and harpsichord (1912–19) at the Berlin Hochschule. She established her École de Musique ancienne in Paris in 1925. In 1940, she came to the United States, settling in Lakeville, Conn., where she taught and made recordings. Largely responsible for the revival of interest in the harpsichord and its music, she was the teacher of many noted contemporary harpsichordists. Manuel de Falla and Francis Poulenc wrote (1926 and 1929) the first 20th-century harpsichord concertos for her.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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