Eugenia Osterberger

Eugenia Osterberger was a Spanish composer and pianist who became a major contributor to the cultural life of the Spanish province of Galicia in the late 19th century. She composed both piano solo pieces and Galician songs with piano accompaniment, drawing on the works of contemporary poets and the style of established composers. She was also a member of the Royal Galician Academy and a promoter of Galician culture. Eugenia Osterberger was born on 20 December 1852 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She was the daughter of Jorge Osterberger, an Alsatian lithographer, and Emilia Luard Álvarez, a Galician woman. She received an unusually extensive education for women of her times, both in France and locally. Her uncle, Justo Luard, ensured her introduction to the piano. In October 1877, she married François Saunier, a French engineer. In 1880, the couple moved to La Coruña where Saunier became director of the gas works. There she became closely associated with Galician culture. She published her compositions both locally and in Paris and Madrid. Together with the writer Emilia Pardo Bazán she helped to establish the Royal Galician Academy, becoming a corresponding member. Her piano compositions include sonatas, nocturnes, bagatelles, scherzi, waltzes and berceuses, frequently in the style of established composers such as Ravel, Schubert or Mendelssohn. Drawing on the works of contemporary poets including Carlos Vaamonde Lores, Manuel Lois Vázquez and Marqués de Figueroa, she composed Galician songs along the lines of those by José Baldomir, Juan Montes Capón or Enrique Lens Viera. They include "Falas de Nai", "Ausencia. Melodía gallega" and "Adiós a Galicia". In 1907, she and her husband moved to Nice in the south of France where she died on 8 February 1932. Her burial place is unknown. She left behind a legacy of musical works that reflect her love for Galicia and her talent as a composer and pianist.