Bettina Walker

Bettina or Bessie Walker (1837 – 4 February 1893) was an Irish pianist and composer.

Biography

Walker was born in Dublin, the daughter of physician William Augustus Walker, who died in 1838. Walker studied in the 1870s, first with William Sterndale Bennett in London and Carl Tausig in Berlin and Giovanni Sgambati in Rome. In 1883 she came to Weimar and continued her studies with Franz Liszt. She also studied under Ludwig Deppe, Xaver Scharwenka and Adolf Henselt.

After Henselt's death in 1889 she settled in Fulham, London, where she taught her piano methodology, but died four years later.

Of lasting importance are her memoirs, in which she details her numerous encounters with important musicians.

Bibliography

• Monthly Bulletin of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Volume 11 (1906), S. 327