Maria Szymanowska

Maria Agata Szymanowska, (1789 – 1831) was a Polish composer and pianist. Much admired during her lifetime and unjustly forgotten after her death, she was one of the first female virtuoso pianists of the 19th century.

In the early 19th century she travelled throughout Europe, eventually settling in Russia, where she composed for the court, taught piano and gave concerts.

Her husband and family objected to Maria’s starting a musical career as a composer and concert pianist. At the time it was frowned upon for a woman to give performances. For this reason she got divorced. At the height of her professional career, Maria died during a cholera epidemic that struck St. Petersburg in 1831.