Louise Langhans-Japhaaus romantic

Louise Langhans-Japha (* 2 February 1826 in Hamburg; † 13 October 1910 in Wiesbaden) was a German pianist and composer.

Life

Louise Japha grew up in Hamburg, where she learnt to play the piano with Fritz Warendorf and to compose with Georg August Groß and Friedrich Wilhelm Grund. She gave her first concert on 10 February 1838 in the Apollo Hall there. She went to the Schröder pianoforte factory in Katharinenstraße to practise the piano, where she also met the young Johannes Brahms, practised and played with him and discussed his first compositions. A friendly relationship developed between Japha and Brahms, who was seven years younger, which lasted for many years. Out of gratitude, Brahms dedicated one of his earliest works to Louise and her sister Minna (Op. 6: 6 Gesänge).

At Clara Schumann’s invitation, Japha moved to Düsseldorf with her sister Minna in 1853 to complete her musical studies with the Schumanns. There she also met Johannes Brahms again.

In 1858, Japha married the composer and music writer Wilhelm Langhans, with whom she performed. She was a celebrated pianist in Paris in particular between 1863 and 1869. She took part in the premiere of Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor (Op. 34) in 1868.

Franz Liszt dedicated his Beethoven Cantata No. 1 to her (festive cantata for the unveiling of the Beethoven monument on Münsterplatz in Bonn, 1845). She socialised with Stephen Heller, François-Auguste Gevaert, Camille Saint-Saëns, César Franck and Gioachino Rossini. Her marriage to Wilhelm Langhans ended in divorce in 1874. In this year, she also settled in Wiesbaden.

Japha wrote an opera, composed string quartets, piano pieces and songs – although not all of her works were published.

Louise Japha died in Wiesbaden on 13 October 1910 at the age of 84.
Source Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Japha