Magda Tagliaferro
Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro (19 January 18939 September 1986) was a Brazilian pianist. Magdalena Tagliaferro was born in Petrópolis, Brazil. Her father, who had studied piano with Raoul Pugno in Paris, was a voice and piano professor in São Paulo.
Magda Tagliaferro

Thor19 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Magda Tagliaferro
- Born
- 19 January 1893
- Birthplace
- Petrópolis, Brazil
- Died
- 9 September 1986
- Place of death
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Full name
- Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro.
- Nationality
- Brazil and France.
- Occupation
- pianist, music educator and musician.
- Fields
- classical music.
- Education
- Conservatoire de Paris.
- Teachers
- Alfred Cortot.
- Languages
- Portuguese.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro (19 January 18939 September 1986) was a Brazilian pianist. Magdalena Tagliaferro was born in Petrópolis, Brazil. Her father, who had studied piano with Raoul Pugno in Paris, was a voice and piano professor in São Paulo.
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Note VALÉORINE
Magda Tagliaferro (1893–1986) was a music educator, musician and pianist, of Brazilian and French nationality. The music educator was born Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro in Petrópolis and died in Rio de Janeiro.
Magda Tagliaferro was educated at Conservatoire de Paris. The music educator worked for Conservatoire de Paris.
The work spans classical music. Languages used include Portuguese.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q432260 · wikipedia · Magda Tagliaferro
In this article
Biography
Biography
He was her first teacher. The cellist Pablo Casals heard Tagliaferro play in São Paulo when she was eleven, and he encouraged her to study at the Conservatoire de Paris. She went to Paris with her parents. Her father arranged for her to play for Pugno, who was impressed and recommended her to Antonin Marmontel at the Conservatoire. She entered the Conservatoire in 1906 in Marmontel's class and was awarded the Premier Prix (the highest examination award for performance) in 1907. Subsequently, she studied with Alfred Cortot and the two remained friends for the rest of his life. She developed a reputation for striving towards the realization of the musical ideals exemplified by Cortot: a union of "clarity and tenderness, inner strength and emotion and classical balance" in shaping the works being interpreted. During her studies at the Conservatoire, the director, Gabriel Fauré invited her on a short tour with him. Later, she performed many of his compositions. During her career, her recital engagements took her to the musical centers of more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa, America, and Asia. She was also very active as a soloist, performing with many leading orchestras and performed with many distinguished conductors, including Felix Weingartner, Issay Dobrowen, Pierre Monteux, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Knappertsbusch, Paul Paray, Vincent d'Indy and Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht. Other solo artists, such as Cortot, Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu, Jules Boucherit and Pablo Casals performed with her in joint recitals. Composers sought her for premieres of their works, sometimes specifically intending that Tagliaferro be the first artist to perform their compositions. She, in turn, applied herself to performing new works by composers such as Reynaldo Hahn, Jean Rivier, Gabriel Pierné and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Tagliaferro also had a distinguished career as a pedagogue. She taught at the Paris Conservatoire from 1937 to 1939, where Polish pianist Władysław Kędra was among her students, invited by her when she heard him play as she judged the III International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland in March, 1937. She also created her own school in Paris and later in Rio de Janeiro and in São Paulo. She gave numerous masterclasses in many countries and created a piano competition. Her many students included Pnina Salzman, Jeanne Demessieux, Lycia de Biase Bidart, Flavio Varani, Cristina Ortiz, Maria Teresa Naranjo Ochoa, Jorge Luis Prats, Gayle Sharlene Brown, James Tocco and Caio Pagano. Tagliaferro maintained a capacity for playing into her nineties. She died of a heart attack in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as announced by her agent.
Magda Tagliaferro studied at Conservatoire de Paris. Training under Alfred Cortot is recorded. Lycia de Biase Bidart, Jorge Luis Prats and Cristina Ortiz are recorded as having studied under Magda Tagliaferro. The recorded working language is Portuguese. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Employment is recorded with Conservatoire de Paris.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Magda Tagliaferro • Born — 19 January 1893 • Birthplace — Petrópolis, Brazil • Died — 9 September 1986 • Place of death — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Instrument — Piano • Illustration — Magdalena Tagliaferro on the cover of Ariel - Musical Culture Magazine
Identity
Identity
Magda Tagliaferro is recorded with the occupation music educator. Classed in the genre classical music. Recorded at birth as Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro. Recorded as pianist, music educator and musician.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1893
Magda Tagliaferro was born on 19 January 1893.
1986
Magda Tagliaferro died on 9 September 1986.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Petrópolis.
Birth place
Rio de Janeiro.
Death place
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Magda Tagliaferro, revision 1347022032 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Selected recordings
• “ The Complete 78-rpm solo and concerto recordings”. Works by Fauré, Hahn, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Mozart, Chopin… recordings, 1928 at 1954). 3 CD APR 2021. Diapason d’or
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Magda Tagliaferro”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q432260: Magda Tagliaferro
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Timbrell, Charles. Tagliaferro, Magda(lena). Oxford University Press. 1. 2001. 978-1-56159-263-0.
- 2.Yorkin Publications. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 2002. 978-0-7876-4074-3.
- 3.Recordings by Magda Tagliaferro | Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos. www.naxos.com.
- 4.Carola Grindea Interviews Magda Tagliaferro.
- 5.88 notes pour piano solo, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Neva Editions, 2015, p. 51.
- 6.Archives, L. A. Times. Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian Classical Pianist, Dies in Rio. Los Angeles Times. 1986-09-13.
References
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References
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General reference
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Magda Tagliaferro studied at Conservatoire de Paris. She trained under Alfred Cortot. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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