Wanda Landowska Facing Camera

Wanda Landowska (July 5, 1879, Warsaw, Poland–August 16, 1959, Lakeville, Connecticut) was a Polish-born musician who helped initiate a revival of the harpsichord in the 20th century after its widespread neglect throughout the 19th century. Known as the “high priestess of the harpsichord,” Landowska was considered a child prodigy and graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory at age 14 before moving to Paris where she became renowned as a teacher and performer and where, in 1919, she opened her own music school. After a stint teaching in Berlin, Landowska made her U.S debut in 1923 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and found a large following in the U.S. after her first recital in New York City in 1924. Forced to flee from Nazi-occupied France in 1924, Landowska permanently settled in the U.S., settling in Lakeville, Connecticut in 1949 where she re-established herself as a performer and teacher.