Esmeralda Athanasiu-Gardeev

Esmeralda Athanasiu-Gardeev was a Romanian pianist and composer. She studied piano and composition in Paris with Julius Schulhoff and composition in St. Petersburg with Anton Rubinstein. She married a Russian general, who introduced her to European aristocracy. Athanasiu-Gardeev taught singing, lute and piano, and her compositions are influenced by Romanian folklore. She published a large number of salon compositions, often with French titles, and dedicated to members of the aristrocracy.