Marguerite Balutet - Bébé, from the cycle Papa Maman Babe

This first extra video is published in order to celebrate the 171st anniversary of the composer born in Paris on July 1st, 1853.

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Marguerite Balutet was a French pianist, composer and teacher. Marguerite Balutet was born in Paris on July 1st, 1853. She showed a talent for music at a young age but a career as an artist hardly seemed to be a serious prospect for her family at first. Finally, his professional trajectory took shape when he entered the Paris Conservatory. She was a student of Félix Le Couppey in piano and of Augustin Savard in harmony and in 1872 obtained a first accessit in piano. At the end of his schooling, Marguerite Balutet performed regularly in concerts she but would soon direct her career towards teaching. She became a renowned piano and music theory teacher.
In November 1893 she created the "Beethoven School" within her vast home at 80 rue Blanche in Paris, with two objectives: to allow young girls to complete musical studies, but also, and perhaps above all, since the idea was a real innovation, to establish a normal training school for future piano teachers. The course, called « cours préparatoire à l'enseignement du piano »(preparatory course for piano teaching), is thus organized into several courses and sessions on pedagogy, theory, music history, analysis and audition of works. At the end of the course, an exam allowed the pupil to obtain a « certificat de capacité » (certificate of ability), validated by great masters of the instrument and musical composition. For example, on the jury for the 1895 exams were Alexander Guilmant, Xavier Leroux, Henri Maréchal, Gabriel Pierné, Charles René and Paul Vidal.
For her commitment and educational activities, Marguerite Balutet was named academy officer in the order of the “Palmes académiques” in 1897 and she received a bronze medal at the Exposition universelle de Paris in 1900. In 1908, she was promoted as officer of public education.
As a composer, she wrote several Mélodies et chamber music pieces, numerous pages for piano, and didactic works, including a “Musical Theory” in 30 lessons published in 1898.
Marguerite Balutet died in Paris on August 20th, 1928.

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The image before (and after) the music is Blanche et noir by Achille (Georges) Fould, chosen for this video by D.T.

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Thanks to Frank from Berlin who was suggesting to point my attention to this French composer.