Raphaela Gromes Featured in WDR Zeitzeichen on Marie Jaëll

To mark the 180th anniversary of Marie Jaëll’s birth, WDR Zeitzeichen dedicates an episode on 17 August 2026 to the French pianist, pedagogue and composer.

Cellist Raphaela Gromes is one of the programme’s key interviewees, alongside musicologist Susanne Wosnitzka, who works at the Archiv Frau und Musik in Frankfurt. Their jointly authored book FORTISSIMA! (Goldmann Verlag, 2025) serves as one of the episode’s principal sources.

Born in Alsace, Marie Jaëll (1846–1925) gains international recognition as a child prodigy and goes on to become one of the most remarkable musicians of her time. She becomes the first French pianist to perform all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Her output comprises around 70 works, ranging from piano music and songs to an opera and large-scale orchestral works. Despite her success, her music later largely falls into obscurity.

Raphaela Gromes plays an important role in the current rediscovery of Jaëll’s music. In the programme, author Fabian Elsäßer highlights her work on Jaëll’s Cello Concerto in particular:

“Marie Jaëll’s Cello Concerto appearing more frequently on orchestral programmes today is thanks to Raphaela Gromes. She reconstructed it from various sources and recently published a new edition.”

The Zeitzeichen episode traces Jaëll’s extraordinary life, explores her connection with Franz Liszt and her innovative approach to piano pedagogy, and looks at the renewed interest in her musical legacy today.

The full episode is available in the WDR Mediathek.