Clara Lichtenstein (October 21, 1863 – May 3, 1946) was a Hungarian-born pianist and educator.

Early life

Lichtenstein was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 1863. Her maternal grandfather was the German singer , and her uncle was the artist Leonhard Gey. She studied at the Charlotte Square Institution in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where her uncle George Lichtenstein was a director. In 1880, she performed piano duets with Sir

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was a Prussian and British pianist and conductor. In 1858, he founded the Hallé Orchestra. Life Charles Frederick Hallé was born Carl Friederich Halle on 10 April 1819 in H ...

. She continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

; she is said to have also studied with

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

around this time.

Career

Following her uncle's death, Lichtenstein became principal of the Charlotte Square Institution. In 1898, she became a member of the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a Charitable organization, charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a ...

. In 1899, she was invited by

Lord Strathcona Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, of Mount Royal in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, and of Glencoe in the County of Argyll, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1900 for the Scottish-born Canadian fin ...

to organize a music department at the Royal Victoria College (later

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

) in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1904, she became vice-director and head of staff of the new McGill Conservatorium of Music. She taught piano, voice, music history and music theory until 1929.Turbide, Nadia (2013). She also gave public lectures in Montreal. Her students included

Pauline Donalda Pauline Donalda , born Pauline Lightstone, (March 5, 1882 – October 22, 1970) was a Canadian operatic soprano. Early life and education Donalda was born Pauline Lightstone in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of Jewish parents who changed their ...

Ellen Ballon Ellen Ballon (October 6, 1898 – December 21, 1969) was a Canadian pianist. The daughter of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants, she was born in Montreal, Quebec. A child prodigy, she gave her first concert at the age of five and began studying m ...

Maud Allan Maud Allan (born as either Beulah Maude Durrant or Ulah Maud Alma Durrant;Birthname given as Ulah Maud Alma DurrantMcConnell, Virginia A. ''Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco'', University of Nebraska Pr ...

, Marguerita Spencer, jazz pianist Max Chamitov, and bass singer Edmund Burke.

Personal life and legacy

Lichtenstein retired to England in 1929, and died in

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, in 1946, in her eighties. Clara Lichtenstein Hall, a small performance hall at McGill University, was named in her honour. In 1979, as part of the conservatory's 80th anniversary events, pianist Janet Schmalfeldt gave a recital in memory of Clara Lichtenstein, featuring works by Bach, Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenstein, Clara 1946 deaths Hungarian music educators Canadian music educators Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian women music educators Canadian women music educators Canadian women pianists Canadian classical pianists Musicians from Budapest Hungarian women classical pianists 1863 births