Louise Farrenc (1804–1875) was a French composer, pianist, and pedagogue. Born in Paris into a family of artists, she studied piano with masters such as Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and composition privately with Anton Reicha. Though women were not generally permitted to enroll in composition courses at the Paris Conservatoire, Farrenc quickly established herself as a formidable pianist and an emerging composer.

Her career as a pianist earned her considerable recognition, culminating in her appointment in 1842 as professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire, a position she held for three decades and the only woman to hold that post during the entire 19th century. Alongside her teaching, she composed prolifically, producing piano solos, chamber music, orchestral overtures, and three symphonies. Her chamber music, in particular, was widely admired by contemporaries such as Robert Schumann, who praised its craftsmanship and expressive depth.

Farrenc also played a crucial role as a musicologist. Together with her husband Aristide, a flutist and publisher, she compiled and edited the monumental Le trésor des pianistes (“The Pianist’s Treasury”), a multi-volume anthology of keyboard works from the 16th to the 19th centuries. This project both preserved historical repertoire and influenced performance practice in her time.

Despite the obstacles she faced as a woman composer, she eventually earned widespread respect, including a long-overdue increase in salary at the Conservatoire after the successful premiere of her Nonet, Op. 38, with star violinist Joseph Joachim. Today, her works are increasingly recognized as some of the most important contributions to French music of the Romantic era.