Carmela Mackenna

Carmela Mackenna Subercaseaux (31 July 1879 – 30 January 1962) was a Chilean pianist and composer. She was successful as both a pianist and composer in Europe, and is identified with the expressionist and neo-classism style. Early and personal life Carmela Mackenna Subercaseaux was born in Santiago on 31 July 1879, As a child, Mackenna was educated at home, like most Chilean women at the time, and showed an aptitude for creative subjects including music, painting and writing. She studied music theory with Bindo Paoli in Santiago, who saw her talent for music and encouraged her to continue her musical studies. Mackenna received critical acclaim during a piano recital presented by Paoli’s students in 1917 and was described in the press as having the “soul of an artist”. Mackenna married diplomat Enrique Cuevas and together they relocated to Germany in 1926, where they lived for the next ten years and was Mackenna’s most active period as a composer. However, her Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which was first played in Berlin on 21 May 1933, was performed in Chile. References