Lili Boulanger was born into a highly musical family. Her mother was a singer, her father a composer, and both promoted their daughter’s talent from her earliest childhood.
Although she could still start her scholarship in Rome, Villa Medici was temporarily closed at the beginning of WW I in 1914. Meanwhile, Lili Boulanger's health deteriorated rapidly.
In her short life, which was marked by severe illness, she was the first woman to win the “Prix de Rome“. She became an international celebrity almost overnight and the publisher ‘Ricordi’ published many of her works during her lifetime. After her death at the young age of 24, her sister Nadia successfully campaigned for the distribution of her works.
Here a sound sample:
Kyra Steckeweh plays Théme No. 6 of Lili Boulanger (from the CD »En dehors«)