CHALITA, Laila Maria

Laila Maria Chalita (b. 1943) is a Brazilian pianist and composer who showed exceptional musical ability from early childhood. Brazilian press reports from the late 1940s and early 1950s describe her as a child prodigy, performing both as a pianist and accordionist and already including her own compositions in recital programmes. She was born into a musical family; her mother, Elvira Dabul Chalita, was a pianist and violinist and played an important role in her early training. Hemeroteca PDF
By the age of six, Chalita was appearing publicly in Brazil, and by 1950 she was performing works by Bach, Rameau, Schumann, Burgmüller, Villa-Lobos, Chopin and Beethoven alongside her own pieces, including Prece and Brincando. Contemporary accounts also mention appearances in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia, indicating that her career as a young performer quickly extended beyond Brazil. Instituto Piano Brasileiro
Her later career continued principally as a pianist. In 1964 she performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra under Henrique Morelenbaum at the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro. She is also included in modern reference lists of Brazilian women composers.