Rediscovered in the early 21st century, the music of Hélène de Montgeroult (1765-1836) is uncommonly inspired and forward-looking, and anticipates Romantic composers who were born many decades later. Although her compositions continue to impress musicians and music-lovers alike, they had never before been recorded on a French piano of her own time.

Marcia Hadjimarkos, a leading specialist of historic keyboard instruments, has filled this gap by making an album of Montgeroult’s music on a square piano built in Paris by Antoine Neuhaus in 1817 and restored by Matthieu Vion. This instrument gives a taste of the vast palette of sounds, colors, and textures the composer herself would have experienced.

The booklet includes the essay The Montgeroult Years by Marcia Hadjimarkos, a biographical sketch of the composer by Jérôme Dorival, our musicological consultant, and a presentation of the piano by Matthieu Vion.