Nadia Boulanger 1914 Three Pieces for Piano Artis Wodehouse pianist

Artis Wodehouse performs Nadia Boulanger's 1914 Three Pieces for Piano on an antique 1910 fully restored Bush & Lane upright on 6/21/19. The two sisters, Lili (1893-1918) and Nadia (1887-1979) Boulanger were two of the most gifted French musicians of the 20th Century. From childhood, both pursued music passionately, as keyboardists (piano and organ), and as composers. The tragic early death of Lili caused Nadia to abandon her own efforts at composition, and for the remainder of her life she served as a promoter of her sister's music, and most notably, as a teacher to many important young composers, in particular, those who came to her for instruction from the United States. Nadia Boulanger's compositions -- some of which until recently existed only in manuscript -- are now being rediscovered, and are of high quality. Her 1914 Three Pieces for Piano were written in Rome, while visiting her sister who had been awarded the Prix de Rome in composition for that year. Nadia Boulanger's lovely aphoristic pieces are fit companions to her sister Lili's similarly colored, lighthearted piano solo pieces "Trois Morceaux pour Piano" written at the same time.