A South American Travelling Female Virtuoso During the Mid-nineteenth Century: The Chilean Pianist-violinist Josefina Filomeno and her Time in the United States (1865-1875)

Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing interest in studying the careers of itinerant musicians in the North Atlantic axis of the 19th century. But much less has been said about traveling musicians along the axis of the Americas (north-south), a less explored and dangerous direction. In this article I review the years in the United States of Josefina Filomeno, pianist and violinist from Valparaíso. Filomeno serves as an excellent example to expand our understanding of the situation of the female performer-composer from South America as a traveler. Filomeno was received in the main cities of the United States as a child prodigy. The appreciation and reception of it were marked by many layers beyond her control: from exoticism to eroticism, from rural to metropolitan audiences, from middle to classical repertoire, from one instrument to another. Filomeno's career brings new problems and helps us rethink the costs of this type of career for young musicians (particularly young women) and their families.