Rogatis, Teresa de (1893–1979)

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Rogatis, Teresa de (1893–1979)

Italian composer, guitarist, pianist, and lecturer. Name variations: married name was Feninger. Born in Naples, Italy, on October 15, 1893; died in Naples on January 8, 1979; married; children: Mario Feninger (a pianist).

Born in Naples in 1893, Teresa de Rogatis was a child prodigy who gave her first recital at age seven. She studied piano, composition, counterpoint, harmony, conducting, and voice at the Conservatorio San Pietro at Majella in Naples. While in Egypt on a concert tour, she married and settled in Cairo. In the late 1950s, Rogatis helped found the National Conservatory of Egypt, where she also taught piano and guitar. She returned to Italy in 1963 and continued to teach and compose. Of over 60 works written by her, half were for piano. Her son Mario Feninger, who was also a concert pianist, founded the Teresa de Rogatis Foundation to publish and distribute his mother's compositions.

John Haag , Athens, Georgia