author
Amy Fay
1844–1928
An American concert pianist and vivid musical observer, she is best remembered for turning her years of study in Germany into one of the most engaging firsthand accounts of 19th-century classical music life. Her writing brings famous teachers like Franz Liszt down to earth while capturing the discipline and excitement of serious piano study.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born on May 21, 1844, in Bayou Goula, Louisiana, Amy Fay became an American concert pianist, teacher, and writer with deep ties to the musical and intellectual world of her time. She studied with John Knowles Paine and at the New England Conservatory, then spent several years in Germany, where she worked with leading pianists including Carl Tausig, Theodor Kullak, Franz Liszt, and Ludwig Deppe.
Those European years shaped her most lasting book, Music Study in Germany (1880), drawn from letters she sent home while training abroad. The book is still valued for its lively, personal picture of musical life in the 19th century, especially its memorable observations of Liszt and the demanding world of piano study.
After returning to the United States, she became known for her "piano conversations," recitals paired with short talks that helped make serious music more approachable for audiences. She later lived in Chicago and New York and was associated with the Women's Philharmonic Society of New York. Fay died on November 9, 1928.