Carreño, (Maria) Teresa

famous Venezuelan pianist; b. Caracas, Dec. 22, 1853; d. N.Y., June 12, 1917. As a child, she studied with her father, an excellent pianist. Driven from home by a revolution, the family settled in N.Y. in 1862, where she studied with Gottschalk. At the age of eight, she gave a public recital in N.Y. (Nov. 25, 1862). She began her career in 1866, after studying with G. Mathias in Paris and A. Rubinstein. She lived mainly in Paris from 1866 to 1870; then in England. She developed a singing voice and made an unexpected appearance in opera in Edinburgh as the Queen in Les Huguenots (May 24, 1872) in a cast that included Tietjens, Brignoli, and Mario; was again in the U.S. in 1876, when she studied voice in Boston. For the Bolivar centenary celebration in Caracas (Oct. 29, 1885), she appeared as singer, pianist, and composer of the festival hymn, written at the request of the Venezuelan government; hence the frequent but erroneous attribution to Carreño of the national hymn of Venezuela, Gloria al bravo pueblo (the music of which was actually composed in 1811 by J. Landaeta, and officially adopted as the Venezuelan national anthem on May 25, 1881). In Caracas she once again demonstrated her versatility, when for the last three weeks of the season she conducted the opera company managed by her husband, Giovanni Tagliapietra. After these musical experiments, she resumed her career as a pianist; made her German debut in Berlin, Nov. 18, 1889; in 1907 toured Australia. Her last appearance with an orch. was with the N.Y. Phil. (Dec. 8, 1916); her last recital appearance was in Havana (March 21, 1917). She was married four times: to Émile Sauret (June 1873), Tagliapietra (1876), Eugène D’Albert (1892–95), and Arturo Tagliapietra, a younger brother of Giovanni (June 30, 1902). She was greatly venerated in Venezuela; her mortal remains were solemnly transferred from N.Y., where she died, and reburied in Caracas, on Feb. 15, 1938.

Bibliography

M. Milinowski, T. G (New Haven, 1940); A. Marquez Rodriguez, Esbozo biográfico de T. C.(Caracas, 1953); R. Marciano, T. C. (Kassel, 1990).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

Carreño, (Maria) Teresa (b Caracas, 1853; d NY, 1917). Venezuelan pianist. Début NY at age 9. Studied with Gottschalk and Anton Rubinstein. Toured Europe 1865–75, when she became operatic sop. and, for a brief spell, cond. Returned to pf. 1889, consolidating reputation as leading woman player of her day. Her 4 husbands incl. d'Albert.