CARREÑO, Teresa

Teresa Carreño was a Venezuelan composer, pianist, singer and conductor. Born in Caracas, she received her first piano lessons from her father and began composing as a child. After her family moved to New York in 1862, she made her public debut at the age of eight. She later developed an international career spanning more than five decades and performed throughout Europe, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Celebrated for the power and virtuosity of her playing, she became known as the “Valkyrie of the Piano.”
Carreño composed approximately seventy-five works. Most are for solo piano, but her output also includes music for voice and piano, choral works, chamber music and compositions for string orchestra. Many of her piano pieces reflect nineteenth-century Romantic forms, including waltzes, polkas, fantasies, études, nocturnes and dances. Among her best-known compositions is Kleiner Walzer (Mi Teresita), written for her daughter. Her larger-scale works include the String Quartet in B minor and the Serenade for String Orchestra.