In the late twentieth century, female composers began to find their way into the canon of Western art music. But women are still struggling to find a firm place in the history of music and the discography that supports it. Teresa Carreño, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela on 22 December, 1853, is a case in point. Carreño came from a musical family. Her ancestors Ambrosio Carreño (1721–1801) and Cayetano Carreño (1774–1836) had been Chapel Masters at the Cathedral of Caracas, and her father Manuel Antonio Carreño (1812–1874) was also a musician, though not professionally.Footnote ¹ This milieu nurtured the young Carreño's talent; she received her first lessons from her father and began giving recitals at a young age. However, it was not only her performance abilities that drew attention in these early years, but also her ability as a composer and improviser. In order to promote Teresa's career, the family moved to New York City in 1862, remaining there until 1866. There the young artist toured the East coast, playing her own compositions as well as improvisations on operas in venues such as Irving Hall and the Brooklyn Music Academy. During this period, her musical talent was awarded with a medal by the Boston Philharmonic Society. Carreño also had the opportunity to meet Louis Moreau Gottschalk, from whom she had some piano lessons. She expressed her devotion to the North American pianist in her composition Vals Gottschalk. Having performed at the White House, for Abraham Lincoln, Carreño and her family returned to Venezuela for a brief period, before going to Europe.Footnote ²

In her first European sojourn (1866–1872), Carreño settled in Paris, where she would have encountered Gounod, Anton Rubinstein, Rossini, Berlioz and Liszt, who is said to have referred to her as ‘one of us’. During this time she published some of her compositions (La Fausse Note, Polka-Capricho) in Le Ménestrel and toured Western Europe as a performer.Footnote ³

After a second sojourn in the United States, she returned to Venezuela in 1885. There, she was received as a heroine and offered recitals across the country, premiering her Himno a Bolívar for tenor, choir and orchestra as well as a new commission, Himno al Ilustre Americano for baritone, choir and orchestra. She also founded the Teresa Carreño Opera Company, which performed Italian opera in Caracas. Due to political and financial problems, Carreño stayed only two years, leaving Venezuela on August 18, 1887 to return to the United States before moving to Germany.Footnote ⁴

This new sojourn in Europe (1889–1916) gave Carreño the opportunity to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and under the batons of Hans von Bülow, Gustav Kogel and Edward Grieg. Her musical talent was recognized with the medal Litteris et Artibus by the King of Sweden in 1891 and the title of Konigliche Kammermusikerin by the King of Saxony in 1893. During these years, her production as a composer increased with works such as the String Quartet in B minor and the Serenade for string orchestra.Footnote ⁵

A new tour brought her back to the American continent, where she died on 12 June 1917 in New York City. As a female artist, Carreño broke some nineteenth-century conventions: she was not only a first-class pianist, but a composer who stood next to female colleagues such as Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann. In addition, Carreño may have been the first woman to conduct an orchestra professionally, when the appointed conductor suddenly left his position. She also sang roles in professional opera performances, and made some pianola recordings.Footnote ⁶ In 1919, her book Possibilities of Tone Color by Artistic Use of the Pedals was posthumously published in English.Footnote ⁷

Venezuela has never forgotten one of her most brilliant musicians. Carreño was repatriated and rests at the National Pantheon in Caracas. During the government of President Luis Herrera Campíns (1979–1984), the Teatro Teresa Carreño was established, becoming the most important cultural centre in Venezuela. The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra of Venezuela was founded in 2007.Footnote ⁸

The present recording continues the expression of respect and admiration towards Carreño's musical legacy. In this reviewer's opinion, playing her music is the best honour that Carreño can receive because it demonstrates her enduring legacy as an outstanding composer. Clara Rodríguez has distinguished herself for being a first-class promoter of the piano repertoire by Latin American composers, especially those from Venezuela from the nineteenth to the twentieth-first century, in international concert venues. It is thus no surprise she has decided to record music by Teresa Carreño, a composer she came to know during her earlier music studies in Caracas.Footnote ⁹

This recording includes the waltzes Le Printemps op. 25, La Corbeille de Fleurs op. 9, Kleiner Waltzer (Teresita), and Vals Gayo. These works contain highly technical passages and ornaments alternating with cantabile sections. Nevertheless, they maintain a good balance as a whole unit and Clara Rodríguez plays both with fluency. Plainte op. 17 (Elegy No. 1), Ballade op. 15, Partie op. 18 (Elegy No. 2) and the Mazurka de salon op. 30 demonstrate her melodic gift, while simultaneously delivering a more meditative music narrative.

The recording also includes examples of Carreño's programme music: Un rêve en Mer op. 28, Le Sommeil de l'Enfant op. 35, Venise op. 33, Une revue à Prague op. 27 and Un bal en rêve op. 26, which includes a section in $$$$ , a rhythm that evokes the music that Carreño heard in Venezuela during her childhood. The cheerful nature of Intermezzo op. 34 and the La fausse note op. 39 does not disguise the works’ great technical difficulties.

The CD booklet was written by Clara Rodríguez in English and Spanish, providing a brief biography of Carreño as well as some brief comments about these works. As a special addition to this recording, it is pertinent to mention that it was made at the Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, which enables excellent audio quality. The interpretation of Rodríguez is highly musical with fine phrasing and subtle nuances as well as a sensitive contour in the dynamics and selection of tempos. Rodríguez immerses herself in Carreño's works with a remarkable structural clarity that captures the poetry in Carreño's compositions. The contribution of this unique recording by Clara Rodríguez helps to construct a discography related to Teresa Carreño and it certainly will inspire pianists around the world to approach this wonderful repertoire.