Daughter of the famous tenor García, himself a favourite of Gioacchino Rossini, Pauline Viardot was originally destined to become a pianist (and was at one time tutored by Liszt) before the deaths of her father and singer sister saw her re‐trained as a mezzo‐soprano by her mother. In 1839 she made her operatic debut in London, subsequently achieving renown on the concert and operatic stages of Great Britain, Germany and Russia in particular. Among her admirers in St Petersburg was the young Ivan Turgenev, later to become the best‐known author of his country in Europe and North America.

Viardot’s place in the history books is not down to vocal prowess alone, for she was also a keen composer, writing in various genres and languages throughout her adult life. Unsurprisingly it is the song that dominates the majority of her output, and Viardot also included as part of her oeuvre arrangements for voice of instrumental works – the most famous being those based on Chopin’s Mazurkas, which we know she performed in concert together with the composer on at least one occasion.