Teresa Milanollo (full name Domenica Maria Teresa; 1827–1904) and her younger sister, Maria Milanollo (1832–1848), were Italian violin-playing child prodigies who toured Europe extensively to great acclaim in the 1840s. After Maria died at age 16, Teresa, who was also a composer, had a long solo career. The name "Milanollo" has been perpetuated by the regimental march of the Life Guards, Coldstream Guards and Governor General's Foot Guards, written in their honour by their contemporary J.V. Hamm. The Teatro Milanollo in their native Savigliano was named for the sisters.
Taught violin in infancy by Ferrero, Caldera, and Morra, Teresa made her concert debut in her native Savigliano aged nine. In 1836 she moved to Paris with her family. She toured Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes with her virtuoso tutors, Lafont, subsequently Habeneck and later still, de Bériot. She eventually became her sister Maria's first and only violin coach.
From 1838 to 1848, the Milanollo sisters toured throughout France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and England, charming royal courts and such composers as Johann Strauss the Elder, Berlioz, Liszt, Chopin and Meyerbeer. Their nicknames, "Mademoiselle Staccato" (Maria) and "Mademoiselle Adagio" (Teresa) reflected their contrasting personalities; the more solemn Teresa was acknowledged as the genius of the two. After Maria Milanollo's untimely death in 1848, Teresa continued performing solo, establishing a system of "Concerts aux Pauvres" (charitable concerts). She retired in 1857 on marriage and died in Paris in 1904.
Although Teresa Milanollo was a pioneer among women violinists, her own musical compositions are now largely forgotten. Three of her violins survive today, a 1728 Stradivarius (the "Milanollo-Dragonetti") played by Paganini and bequeathed to Teresa by Domenico Dragonetti, a c. 1680 Ruggieri small violin (the "Milanollo") the property of her younger sister Maria, auctionied by Tarisio in April 2010, and a 1703 Stradivarius (the "Milanollo-Hembert").
Biography of the Milanollo sisters The Milanollo sisters, were a pair of violin-playing prodigies who toured Europe to great acclaim during the 1840s.
Early years
Birth, parentage, and their father's profession They were among thirteen childrenF.J. Fétis,Biographie Universelle des Musiciens, 2nd ed, Vol. 6 (Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot Frères, Fils et Cie., 1864), pp. 139-141) born in Savigliano in Piedmont, to Giuseppe Antonio Milanollo and his wife Antonina (née Rizzo) of Mondovì,.Piero Faustini, "Milanollo," in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 74 (2010). Accessed 26 December 2011 Born on 18 August 1827. Teresa was almost five years older than Maria (born 18 June 1832).A Ehrlich, trans. and ed. Robin H Legge, Celebrated Violinists, Past and Present (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906), pp 169-70. (Chapter 62). Accessed 26 December 2011. Although Giuseppe Milanollo's profession is usually given as a "manufacturer of silk-spinning machines", he was identified by a contemporary musical critic as a "luthier", i.e., a maker of stringed instruments.Henri Blanchard, Revue de Gazette Musicale de Paris no. 28 (11 April 1841), p. 222, reviewing the Milanollo sisters' concert in Paris of 5 April 1841.
Teresa Milanollo's training in Turin and first concerts The profession of luthier is consistent with Giuseppe's making for Teresa a little violin of white wood and giving her basic harmony lessons. This was in response to her persistent demands for a violin of her own after first displaying musical interest at the age of four. On leaving a church after a funeral ceremony in honour of King Charles Felix of Sardinia, Giuseppe had asked her if she had prayed. "No, father," she replied, "I did nothing but listen to the violin."reprint on Song of the Lark website of "Women Violinists of the Victorian Era," author unknown, from the February or March 1899 edition of The Lady’s Realm, author unknown, from the February or March 1899 edition of The Lady’s Realm. London: Hutchinson, 1899. Accessed 26 December 2011.
Giuseppe placed Teresa under the tuition of Giovanni Ferrero,I find no reference to Giovanni Ferrero as a violinist, but this give a possible identity as a double-bassist: "The first version of Boris Godunov was rejected by the committee of the Imperial Theatre of St Petersburg on account, among other reasons, of the discontent of Giovanni Ferrero, a double-bassist and a member of the committee." Nicholas Slonimsky, Writings on Music, vol. I, "Early articles for the Boston Evening Transcript" (London and New York: Routledge, 2004), pp. 74-75. based locally in Savigliano. Aged eight, Teresa was taken to Turin to study with Giovanni Morra and Mauro Caldera. Shortly following her concert debut in the oratory of a convent of Savigliano, she performed in Mondovì on 17 April 1836 and then other cities in Piedmont to great admiration. To support Teresa's blossoming career, the Milanollo family departed later in 1836 for France, travelling on foot and by mule, to play in the Musard concerts in Marseille.
"There is little doubt," wrote Henry Lahee, "that the success of Teresa Milanollo gave the first great impulse toward the study of the violin by women."Henry C Lahee, "Famous Violinists of Today and Yesterday". Accessed 26 June 2011.
1836–37: Marseille, Paris and touring the Netherlands with Lafont After a stop in Nice, Teresa concertised for a few evenings in the Rue de Noailles in Marseille, then on to the Grand-Théâtre. From there, the Milanollo family travelled on to Paris with a letter of introduction to the celebrated violinist Charles Philippe Lafont, who now became her teacher. In Paris she performed some concerts at the Opéra Comique.
At the end of 1836, she went with Lafont for a tour of Belgium and the Netherlands. They performed together in a benefit concert on 10 December in the Hôtel de Ville, Brussels. From 18 to 30 January 1837, Teresa starred in five concerts in Amsterdam, from where she was summoned to entertain at the royal court in The Hague. During March and April she played concerts in, among others, Utrecht, Delft, Rotterdam and Amsterdam again.
1837–38: London — study with Mori, a mismanaged UK tour, and concerts for Strauss the Elder Following the Netherlands tour, nine-year-old Teresa moved in 1837 with her family to London, where her brother Augustus was born. There she took lessons with Nicolas MoriThe Italian Dictionary of Biography has this as "F Mori", of whom there is no trace. Given that the Milanollos were in London and that Nicolas Mori was active there until his death in 1839, it is likely that he was Teresa's teacher during this period and Auguste Tolbecque. Mori duetted with her on a sinfonia concertante in a series of concerts which she gave from 30 May onwards at Covent Garden Theatre.
On 30 June 1837, Teresa appeared at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket alongside her young colleague and contemporary, the German A. Moeser. (The King's Theatre, the second on this site, eventually became Her Majesty's Theatre, where Phantom of the Opera has enjoyed a long run in London."Her Majesty's Theatre," from the Music Hall and History website. Accessed 26 June 2011.)
A French harpist, Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, at the time taking refuge in London to avoid prosecution for fraud and forgery,see Wikipedia article Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. volunteered his services as manager to Teresa. Unfortunately, he pocketed the earnings due to Teresa and her family from the September–October UK tour of forty concerts he organized, which took in Liverpool and many venues in the South West and Wales.
On Wednesday, 11 April 1838, Teresa Milanollo entertained the 22nd Anniversary of the Theatrical Fund of the Covent Garden Theatre. The glittering dinner, which raised £1,000, was also the occasion to announce, "to loud and general cheering", that Queen Victoria, recently crowned, had agreed to be Patroness of the Fund.Simon Henry Gage, The Theatrical Observer and, Daily bills of the Play,(Volume 1838 v.1 no.5003-5104:(Jan 1,1838-Apr 30,1838)) London: C. Harris, p. 38 of 50. Accessed 25 December 2012. It took place at the Freemasons' TavernSee Freemasons' Tavern, on London Remembers website. Accessed 25 December 2012. on Queen Street. The theatrical chronicler Simon Henry Gage described a "large room completely filled and the gallery exhibited a bright phalanx of beauty", and hailed the performance of "that wonderful girl, Milanollo".
Teresa 's father succeeded in bringing her to the attention of Johann Strauss the Elder, in whose concerts she performed from May 1838 onwards. She played in London's prestigious Hanover Square RoomsSee "Hanover-square Rooms: The place for concerts on "The Regency World of author Lesley-Anne McLeod" website]. Accessed 5 December 2013. with young pianist Ellen May on 9 June.
1838–1840: Return to France, first performances and tours with Maria, and study with Habeneck After the eleven-year-old Teresa returned to France in mid-1838 she began teaching violin to her little sister Maria, then aged six. By 19 June 1838, they performed their first official performance together. The unprecedented appearance of two female violinists "constituted a new feature of the concert-room"Emil Naumann, The History of Music, vol. 5 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Accessed 26 December 2012 and "created a sensation" which led to the sisters' eventual "worldwide fame".
Now Teresa embarked on a triumphant tour of Northern France, including Lille (November), Rouen (in a concert with Amédée MéreauxSee also Biography of Amédée Méreaux. Accessed 5 January 2013.) and Normandy, lasting until the beginning of 1839. She played a further seven concerts in Rouen in April.
From early 1840 Teresa, increasingly accompanied by Maria, performed in other places in France. There were six concerts in April in Nantes, where, at that time, the first biography of the two gifted sisters was printed. They were now aged thirteen and eight. Writing in 1897, Alice Diehl identifies Teresa as the inspirational pioneer among female violinists:
Their father Giuseppe, always soliciting optimal learning and artistic opportunities for the girls, placed Teresa during summer 1840 under the tutelage of François-Antoine Habeneck, the Director of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire (the main orchestra in Bordeaux), and first violin in the orchestra and conductor of the Opera. Between October and December 1840, the young sisters performed with great success in 12 concerts in Bordeaux, and a further eight concerts in Orléans in February, 1841.
1841–1845: Success and glittering tours During these years, aged fourteen and nine in 1841, the Milanollo sisters performed not only for the crowned heads of Europe, but also for – and sometimes with – the composers Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt, and Meyerbeer.
Bordeaux Conservatory concert, 18 April 1841 — the making of Teresa's reputation
On 5 April, the two sisters appeared together in the recently built Salle des Concerts Herz. That concert was approached with a mixture of "scorn and boredom" by the critic Henri Blanchard, who pronounced it a "splendidly happy" occasion afterwards.
However, it was the Bordeaux Conservatory concert of 18 April 1841, attended by the composer Berlioz, which sealed the 14-year-old Teresa's reputation, and proved to be a turning point in her career. "In the opinion of all the critics of that time, and notably of Berlioz, her success was immense, and it was this appearance that definitely crowned her reputation." Apparently, Habeneck "made her play his Grand Polonaise in C".