Background
Anna Caroline de Belleville, often referred to as "Ninette", was born in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany. She was the daughter of a French aristocrat who was the director of the national Court Opera in Mannheim.
composer pianist woman composer
Anna Caroline de Belleville, often referred to as "Ninette", was born in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany. She was the daughter of a French aristocrat who was the director of the national Court Opera in Mannheim.
She studied with Carl Czerny in Vienna between 1816 to 1820, where she met Beethoven and heard him improvise.
In 1829 she traveled to Warsaw where Chopin heard her play impressively enough for him to write about it in a letter, praising her "excellent" playing for its lightness and elegance. Twelve years later, in 1841, Chopin dedicated his Waltz in F minor, Operation Posth. 70, Number. 2, to Madame
Oury, though it went unpublished until 1855.
They performed in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Russia between 1831 to 1839 before settling in England, excepting a concert tour of Italy in 1846-1847. The remainder of Anna Caroline Oury"s career was spent focusing on composition until her retirement in 1866, writing approximately 180 works for piano in this time.
Oury died in Munich in 1880 at the age of 72.