Landowska, Wanda
(July 5, 1877 - Aug. 16, 1959) [the year 1879 is given for her birth by the Polski Slownik Biograficzny]
Concert pianist.

An eminent harpsichordist and pianist, has made frequent visits to the United States since 1923, giving many recitals. Has made manny appearances as soloist with major orchestras. Except for six years spent in Berlin as a professor at the Koenigliche Hoehsehule furer Musik, Mme. Landowska made her home in France from 1900 until the Germans entered that country. Came to America in 1941 as a refugee, having been deprived of all her property. Resides in Scarsdale, N. Y.

From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943

Wanda Landowska -- harpsichordist, pianist

Wanda Landowska (1877-1959) was born in Warsaw and studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. She began playing the piano at age four and at age sixteen she went to Berlin to study composition and counterpoint. She taught piano from 1900 to 1912 at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, and harpsichord from 1912 to 1919 at the Berlin Hochschule. At Saint-LeuIa Foret, near Paris, she established her Ecole de Musique Ancienne and there, between 1919 and 1940, gave many concerts of early music. In 1940 she came to the United States, settling in Lakeville, Connecticut, where she taught and made recordings. Largely responsible for the revival of interest in the harpsichord and its music, she was the teacher of many noted contemporary harpsichordists.

Wanda Landowska made her American debut in 1923 with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and made her first phonograph recordings for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey. Her later years were devoted to composing and writing. She authored many articles on composers and music. Her best known literary effort is "Music of the Past," published by A. A. Knopf in 1924.

Her extensive research in European libraries uncovered many long-forgotten masterworks which she subsequently popularized in her many concerts on the harpsichord. Her scholarship and commanding expression of her art helped revive interest in the harpsichord among several contemporary composers, including Manuel de Falla and Francis Poulenc, who wrote major compositions for her use.

From: Wally West