Teresa Carreño received her early musical training from her father, Manuel Antonio, whose work is also featured in the Freedman Collection. Manuel Antonio Carreño was one of six surviving children born to Cayetano Carreño, who worked as a chapel master in the Caracas Cathedral from 1796-1836. Cayetano’s children grew up to become singers, organists, and chapel masters in his footsteps, in addition to gaining some interest in the political sphere of Venezuela. Manuel Antonio served as Minister of External Relations and Finance for the Venezuelan government whilst maintaining his love of music as an amateur pianist and composer. He is still regarded as a figure of cultural importance in the Spanish-American world for his book published in 1853, Manual de urbanidad y buenas costumbres (Manual of Civility and Good Customs), which served as the standard for proper behavior and a facilitator for discussions of etiquette and social interactions.
Manuel Antonio Carreño en 1863, Laura Pita: Teresa Carreño’s Early Years in Caracas: Cultural Intersections of Piano Virtuosity, Gender, and Nation-Building in the Nineteenth Century. Dissertation, University of Kentucky, 2019, p. 279 (taken from Teresa Carreño Papers, Vassar College Libraries), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manuel_Antonio_Carre%C3%B1o_1863.png
