Wanda Landowska
Wanda Aleksandra Landowska was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings helped revitalize the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 1900s. She was the first person to record Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord in 1933. She conducted extensive research on all aspects of 17th- and 18th-century music, and published her book Musique ancienne in 1909. Landowska toured throughout Europe performing Bach concertos on harpsichord; these concerts, combined with her research, and writings spurred the 20-century revival of the instrument and the development of modern harpsichord technique. Landowska also taught classes at conservatories in Berlin and Paris, and in 1925 founded her own school, the École de Musique Ancienne (School of Ancient Music), north of Paris at Saint-Leu-la-Fôret. In 1940, she and her domestic partner, Denise Restout, fled the Nazi invasion of France. Her home in Saint-Leu was looted, and her instruments and manuscripts stolen, so she arrived in the United States essentially with no assets. She went on to re-establish herself as a performer and teacher in the United States, touring extensively. After her death in 1959, her longtime domestic partner Restout edited and translated her writings and music, preserving Landowska’s artistic legacy.