User:Portugal.k/sandbox/Carmen Bravo

Carme Bravo Roy (Gironella, Berguedà, born October 24th, 1919) was a catalan pianist. She completed her piano studies a the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona where she recieved various awards and qualifications including a scholarship to study in Paris. In 1950 she moved to France where she studied under Madga Tagliaferro and Lazare Lévy.

Early Years
Born into an artesian family, Bravo recieved her first piano lessons from a neighbor. Later when her family moved to Barcelona, she took up piano and solfege at a music school. During this period she met her close friend Petri Palou, also a piano student.

Music Career
She initiated her piano solo career in Barcelona with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, working with Eduard Toldrà who was the conductor at that time. In 1941 Bravo participated in a piano competition organized by César Mendoza Lasalle in the Coliseum theatre of Barcelona. There she met composer Frederic Mompou who she would later marry in 1957. In 1950, the Barcelona city council awarded her a scholarship to travel to Paris to continue her piano studies. During her stay there she performed for the French radio station. Bravo also gave various concerts in Italy and the Netherlands, presenting classical and Spanish repertoire. Among other known professors, she recieved lessons from Ricard Vinyes. During her marriage she taught piano at the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona as well as pedagogy at the Escola Universitària del Professorat. After the death of her husband, she again took up her performance career, presenting his works in countries such as Japan, the United States, and in other regions of Spain.

Personal Life
Bravo began her childhood living alone with her parents in Girona. She had older siblings who were enrolled in a boarding school, so she recieved her early education from her mother. It was at the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona that she met her close friend Petri Palou. This friendship would last many years and together they would collaborate in concerts all over Spain. After a first formal meeting with the composer and pianist Frederic Mompou, the two developed a close relationship, meeting frequently to go on walks in Barcelona. The relationship continued for fifteen years until their marriage in 1957. Bravo also had friendships with many other known artists and poets of her time. Among others, she kept in contact with Alicia de Larrocha, Xavier Montsalvatge, Josep Janés, and Ester Nadal. Bravo and Nadal had participated together in many musical activities, and along with Pura Gómez and J. Climent i Guinart they founded the Cor Mixt Polifònic.

Later Years
In the years after the death of her husband, Bravo began giving private lessons to pianists, instructing them in the art of performing Mompou's music. She had the initiative to create a foundation dedicated to the divulgation of Mompou's works, especially among young people. Together with the Juventuts Musicals de Barcelona and Joan Millà she established the Frederic Mompou Private Foundation on the 12th of June, 2006.

She recorded two discs published with EMI Classics and PDI.