Blanche Selva facts for kids

Blanche Selva (born January 29, 1884 – died December 3, 1942) was a talented French pianist, music teacher, writer, and composer. She was also known by her Catalan name, Blanca Selva i Henry, and had Spanish family roots.

Blanche Selva's Life Story

Blanche Selva was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, a town in Corrèze, France. From a young age, she showed great promise in music. She started learning piano with different teachers and even took special classes before being accepted into the famous Paris Conservatory in 1893. She won a medal there but decided to leave before finishing her studies.

Early Career and Achievements

When Blanche was 13, her family moved to Geneva, and she began giving concerts in Lausanne. She studied with a well-known musician named Vincent d'Indy. In 1901, she became a professor at the Schola Cantorum de Paris, a famous music school. Later, she also taught at other important schools, including the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, the École Normale de Musique in Paris, and the Prague Conservatory.

Blanche Selva was special because she was the only French pianist of her time who focused on Czech music. This made her very popular in Czechoslovakia. She traveled a lot, performing concerts all over Europe. By the time she was just 20 years old, she had already played all of J.S. Bach's piano music in 17 different concerts! Between 1906 and 1909, she was the first to perform all four parts of Isaac Albéniz's famous piano suite called Iberia.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1925, Blanche Selva moved to Barcelona, Spain. There, she started her own music school and often performed with a violinist named Joan Massià. Sadly, in 1930, she developed a health issue that stopped her from performing concerts. However, she didn't let this stop her love for music. She continued to teach, write, and compose new music.

In 1936, because of the Spanish Civil War, she had to leave Barcelona. She lived in different towns in France, including Marseille and Moulins, Allier. She passed away in December 1942 at the age of 59.

Blanche Selva's Writings

Blanche Selva was not only a great musician but also a talented writer. She translated and copied music, but her most important work was a huge 7-volume book series about piano technique.

• L'Enseignement musical de la Technique du Piano (The Musical Teaching of Piano Technique), published in Paris from 1916 to 1925.

This book introduced new ways of playing the piano. She wrote about using big arm movements and described different ways to touch the keys to create various sounds. Her detailed descriptions made her book a unique and important contribution to the history of piano playing.

She also wrote articles for music magazines and journals like Tablettes de la Schola and La Revue Musicale. Some of her other books include:

• The Sonata, Study of its historical and expressive for the interpretation and hearing, Paris 1913
• "Sonatas para piano de Beethoven" (Beethoven's Piano Sonatas), Barcelona 1927
• Déodat de Séverac, Paris 1930 (a book about another composer)

Blanche Selva's Compositions

Blanche Selva also composed many pieces of music. Here are some of her selected works:

Music for Piano and Organ

• Paysage au soleil couchant (Landscape at Sunset) (1904)
• Suite (a collection of pieces like Prélude, Allemande, Courante, Burla, Chanson, Farandole) for piano (1904)
• Cloches dans la brume (Bells in the Mist) for piano (1905)
• Cloches au soleil (Bells in the Sun) for piano (1905)
• Pièces (Pieces) for piano (1908)
• Petite pièce (Little Piece) for organ (1908)
• La Vasque aux Colombes (The Dove Basin) (1921)
• Primers Jocs (First Games) for piano (1931)
• Le jeu du pentacorde qui vole (The Game of the Flying Pentachord), an exercise for piano (1940)
• Transcriptions pour piano d'œuvres de Vincent d'Indy et César Franck (Piano arrangements of works by Vincent d'Indy and César Franck) (1910–1912)

Vocal and Choral Music

• Les Ancêtres du Lys (The Ancestors of the Lily) (1905)
• Rosaire d'après Francis Jammes (Rosary after Francis Jammes) (1906)
• Venez sous la tonnelle d'après Francis Jammes (Come Under the Arbor after Francis Jammes) (1908)
• Muntanya blava (Blue Mountain) for voice and piano (1928)
• Mes de Maria (Month of Mary) for voice and piano (1929)
• Dix mélodies sur des poèmes catalans (Ten Melodies on Catalan Poems) (1935)
• La Farigola (1926)
• El Tronc (1929)
• Quicumque Enim Spiritu Dei Aguntur (1929)
• Pensament Matinal (Morning Thought) (1931)
• O Fleurs des fleurs d'après Blanche Selva (O Flowers of Flowers after Blanche Selva) (1939)

Chamber and Orchestral Music

• La Nit de la Purissima (The Night of the Immaculate Conception) (1929)
• Quatre pièces pour violon et piano (Four Pieces for Violin and Piano) (1934)
• Poème de la Resureccio ou Oratorio pascal (Poem of the Resurrection or Easter Oratorio) (manuscript lost, 1938)

Recordings

Some of Blanche Selva's works have been recorded and are available on CDs. These include:

• Blanche Selva, une promenade musicale (Blanche Selva, a Musical Walk)
• Malibran-Music

See also

In Spanish: Blanche Selva para niños