The Milanollo sisters, were a pair of violin-playing prodigies who toured Europe to great acclaim during the 1840s.
Early years Birth, parentage, and their father's profession They were among thirteen children born in
Savigliano in
Piedmont, to Giuseppe Antonio Milanollo and his wife Antonina (
née Rizzo) of
Mondovì,. Born on 18 August 1827. Teresa was almost five years older than Maria (born 18 June 1832). Although Giuseppe Milanollo's profession is usually given as a "manufacturer of silk-spinning machines",
Teresa Milanollo's training in Turin and first concerts The profession of
luthier is consistent with Giuseppe's making for Teresa a little violin of white wood and giving her basic harmony lessons. This was in response to her persistent demands for a violin of her own after first displaying musical interest at the age of four. On leaving a church after a funeral ceremony in honour of King
Charles Felix of Sardinia, Giuseppe had asked her if she had prayed. "No, father," she replied, "I did nothing but listen to the violin." Giuseppe placed Teresa under the tuition of Giovanni Ferrero, based locally in Savigliano.
1836–37: Marseille, Paris and touring the Netherlands with Lafont After a stop in
Nice, Teresa concertised for a few evenings in the
Rue de Noailles in
Marseille, then on to the
Grand-Théâtre. From there, the Milanollo family travelled on to
Paris with a letter of introduction to the celebrated violinist
Charles Philippe Lafont, who now became her teacher. and
Auguste Tolbecque.) A French harpist,
Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, at the time taking refuge in London to avoid prosecution for fraud and forgery, volunteered his services as manager to Teresa. Unfortunately, he pocketed the earnings due to Teresa and her family from the September–October
UK tour of forty concerts It took place at the Freemasons' Tavern on
Queen Street. The theatrical chronicler Simon Henry Gage described a "large room completely filled and the gallery exhibited a bright phalanx of beauty", and hailed the performance of "that wonderful girl, Milanollo". with young pianist Ellen May on 9 June. and "created a sensation" which led to the sisters' eventual "worldwide fame".) and Normandy, lasting until the beginning of 1839. She played a further seven concerts in Rouen in April. Following these acclaimed performances
King Louis Philippe III invited the sisters to play for the royal family in his castle at
Neuilly (3 June).
1842–43: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and back to their native Piedmont That September, they began a long tour of
Germany in
Aachen. A month later, in
Cologne, in the
palace of Brühl the sisters had the honour of performing together with
Franz Liszt They "took Vienna by storm" After performances in many cities in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, the tour reached
Trieste in August, and then regained their native Piedmont, from which they had been absent for six years. They played a benefit concert in Turin, but also in Savigliano and other places, and finally performed at the royal castle of
Govone, in the presence of Queen
Maria Theresa of Habsburg and Tuscany. Between 6–30 November the sisters completed 8 concerts in
La Scala,
Milan, and in December 1843 performed in
Venice after concerts in
Verona and
Padua. Winter 1844 was spent concertising throughout Belgium, and New Year 1845 saw 17 performances in Amsterdam. Then, after briefly touring Northern France, the Milanollos performed in Britain in summer 1845, including in the presence of
Queen Victoria. To close the concert, Teresa played her own composition, a fantasy on
Marlborough. Another critic in the
Glaneur claimed that her violin possessed "
une âme vivante" ("a living soul"). She could barely carry the bouquets which fell at her feet. at the age of twenty-nine, and "later that day, married a military engineer and amateur musician named Theodore Parmentier" at the church of Saint Martin, Malzéville. Their reception, attended by "
quantité «d’uniformes engalonnés d’or»" (many officers in gold-trimmed uniforms), was held in the garden of a house in the street of Chanoine Boulanger. aged seventy-seven. The two sisters were buried at the
Père Lachaise cemetery. Teresa Milanollo donated many of the keepsakes and documents of her and her sister’s artistic career to the native town Savigliano. Nowadays these objects are displayed in the city museum "Antonino Olmo", in a dedicated room. == Compositions ==