"Woman of the Americas"
1894 - 1951
What a Diff'rence a Day Made
Although her name is rarely recognized these days in the United States, this busy songwriter composed over 800 songs in her lifetime, many of which are still well known in Mexico, Spain and much of Latin America. Mention 'Maria Grever' in these countries, and it's as if you've brought up the name 'Irving Berlin'.
Popular legend has it that Maria Grever was born onboard the ship that carried her mother from her native Mexico to join her husband in Spain. It's probably only a romantic tale - but befitting for the woman who united European and homegrown American music in her work. Maria Grever spent her musical career moving between continental orchestration and light opera and the folk melodies she loved and learned at her mother's knee.
She started composing songs at age six, and as a youth studied with Claude Debussy and Franz Lenhard in France. She was reportedly passionate about music, about opera, about singing, about love, about life. At age 18 she published her first song "A Una Ola" ("To a Wave") which sold a fantastic 3 million copies.
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