Camilla

Camilla Urso grows up among musicians in Nantes: her father plays flute at the theatre and organ at church, while her mother sings and helps with music lessons. Charles Barnard’s biography begins with the child sharing her father’s seat in the orchestra and developing an early gift for music. The family’s modest income makes the details of her upbringing part of the story, alongside the theatres, churches and streets that shape her first experience of art.

A prize at the National Conservatory of Music precedes Camilla’s departure from Paris. Camilla reaches New York with her father, her aunt and her violin, then encounters unfamiliar speech and lavish hotel rooms as a concert troupe prepares to perform. Barnard explains that Urso supplied the incidents herself in 1874 and checked his written account for accuracy. The book offers readers interested in music education a portrait of young talent supported by family, persistent work and changing circumstances.