Natalia Janotha

Natalia Janotha (8 June 1856 – 9 June 1932) was a Polish pianist and composer.

Natalia Janotha

Biography

Natalia Janotha was born in Warsaw, Poland, the daughter of Juliusz Janotha, who was a composer and teacher at the Music Institute in Warsaw. She started piano lessons with her father at a young age and later studied music in Berlin with Ernst Rudorff and Woldemar Bargiel, with Clara Schumann, and possibly had lessons from Johannes Brahms. She performed her first recital in 1868 and toured Europe as a concert pianist.

She was known as an interpreter of the music of Chopin, whose sister was a very close friend of her mother's;[1] and she received advice from Chopin's pupil Princess Czartoryska née Radziwill.[2] In 1885 she became the Imperial Court pianist in Berlin. She became noted as a mountain climber, sometimes wearing men's trousers. In 1883 she became the first woman to ascend Gerlach, the highest mountain in Carpathians.[3]

She lived in London for a few years, but was deported in 1915 owing to the political circumstances of World War I, because she was the German court pianist.[4][5][6] Then, she emigrated to The Hague.[7] In The Hague, she played as accompanist to the dancer Angèle Sydow.[8]

She died in The Hague on 9 June 1932.[9] [10] [11] A few days later, a funeral was held at the Jacob Church in Parkstraat and buried at the Kerkkhoflan Cemetery, a newspaper in The Hague reported.[12]

Mary Drew said, "I am extremely glad to hear that Miss Janotha is giving her aid to the interpretation of Chopin, whom she so deeply venerates, for I feel sure that no one living is more competent to do it."[13]

Natalia Janotha and "Prince White Heather" (The Girl's Own Paper, Volume 23. Issue 1137.1901-10-12, p.20)

She was known for had a black cat, named "Prince White Heather", means good luck.[14][15]

Harold C. Schonberg said, she was known for performing only as long as her dog was on stage within her view and a prayer book was placed on the piano. He also said, after listening her playing("Gavotte impériale", recorded in 1904), "a screamingly funny piece of music, and she bangs it out with great enthusiasm."[16]

Works

Janotha composed about 400 works, mostly for piano. Selected works include:

  • Mountain Scenes, dedicated to Schumann
  • Gavotte impériale(1890)
  • Deutscher Kaiser Marsch : op. 9(1895)
  • Tatras
  • The Impression from Zakopane
  • Morskie Oko
  • Sabala
  • Gerlach
  • Kościelisko
  • Bandit
  • Polonaise funèbre : pour piano : op. 100(1928)
  • Cadenzas for Beethoven's Pianoforte Concerto in G : Op. 58
  • Tuning Up (text: Charles Peters) (1895)[17]

Natalie Janotha also translated and edited books on subjects relating to Chopin, including:

  • Chopin's Greater Works (Preludes, Ballads, Nocturnes, Polonaises, Mazurkas): How they should be understood (including Chopin's Notes for a 'Method of Methods'[n 1]) by Jan Kleczyński (William Reeves, London: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, no date (1st Edn c. 1895, 2nd c. 1900)). (Kleczynski's last Lectures, delivered at Warsaw in 1883.)
  • Chopin as revealed by extracts from his diary by Stanisław Tarnowski (William Reeves, London, no date (c.1905)).[20]

References

Notes

  1. Chopin's Notes for a 'Method of Methods' she quoted in the books was bequested by Marcelina Czartoryska. It was obtained by Alfred Cortot after Janotha died, in 1936.[18][19]

Citations

  1. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed (1954), Vol. IV, p. 587
  2. J. Methuen-Campbell, Chopin Playing from the composer to the present day (Victor Gollancz, London 1981), pp. 41, 71.
  3. Zofia i Witold H. Paryscy, Internetowa Wielka Encyklopedia Tatrzańska
  4. BRITISH DEPORT KAISER'S PIANIST; Maria Janotha Arrested and Expelled as an Undesirable Alien. The New York Times, 1915.8.10, pp.5
  5. Mile. Janotha, Pianist to Kaiser and Long Favorite of British Royalty, Deported. The New York Herald, 1915.8.10
  6. Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 1915.8.12, pp.2
  7. KUNST en WETENSCHAP. Nathalle Janotha. Arnhemsche courant, 1915.8.24
  8. KUNST EN LETTEREN ANGELE SYDOW. Het Vaderland, 1921.11.30, pp.2
  9. Johnston, Rovi. "Artist:Natalia Janotha". Answers.com. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  10. N. JANOTA GRAVIN DI TOMARI. † Het Vaderland, 1932.6.10, pp.1
  11. NATALIE JANOTHA † Ven Europeesche bekendheid uit het bezin van deze eeuw Het Vaderland: staat- en letterkundig nieuwsblad 1932.6.11, pp.2
  12. Begrafenis Janota Het Vaderland: staat- en letterkundig nieuwsblad 1932.6.14, pp.2
  13. Chopin's greater works, preface
  14. Cheiro: Cheiro's Memoirs: The Reminiscences of a Society Palmist(1912), pp.92-93
  15. "Mademoiselle Janotha and Her Cat: An Interview with 'White Heather'", The Girl's Own Paper(1901), Volume 23, Issue 1137, pp.20-21
  16. Schonberg, Harold C. (1963). "The Ladies". The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present. New York: Fireside. p. 335. ISBN 0-671-21339-3.
  17. Victorian Voices archive
  18. Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Chopin : pianist and teacher as seen by his pupils (Cambridge University Press, New York 1986), pp. 90.
  19. Sketches for a piano method : autograph manuscript, 1810-1849 Search results of Pierpont Morgan Library Dept. of Music Manuscripts and Books online catalog
  20. Includes portrait of Natalie Janotha facing p. 20, see here.
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