women composers

This week we move back much further in time to the 17th Century and a composition by Barbara Strozzi, Che si può fare. This lovely aria is part of a series of Arias, Cantatas, & Sernatas first published in 1664 as her Arie, Op. 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F458aC_FUM Strozzi, born as Barbara Valle, was a self-made force of music in Italy in...

Many of the composers we feature in Obscure Music Mondays come from the Romantic and Modern eras, simply as a result of wider publication of music during those times. Today we move back to a much lesser known composer of the Classical era, Maria Hester Park. Her Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 7 was first published in 1796 at...

Adele aus der Ohe (1861-1937) was a German pianist and composer whose works have sadly disappeared from common performance. As a pianist, her virtuosic performances led to her being held in high regard (and demand). While her involvement is much less talked about than other aspects of the trip, she joined her friend Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on his trip to...

We've previously taken a look at two works by Mélanie Hélène Bonis (Mel Bonis), her Suite en Trio and Sonata for Cello and Piano. If you're not familiar with Mel Bonis, make sure to take a look at those previous works to learn more about her. This week we take a look at her Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 69...

Agathe Ursula Backer Grøndahl (December 1, 1847 – June 4, 1907) was a Norwegian pianist and composer from a well-to-do family that supported the arts. Agathe and her three sisters all showed artistic talent. When Backer Grøndahl was 10, she moved with her family to the capital of Norway, Christiana (present-day Oslo) where she studied with Ludvig Mathias Lindeman and other...

Clara Schumann (Sept. 13, 1819 - May 20, 1896) was a German composer and pianist, born to musical parents in Leipzig. Her father was well-known throughout Leipzig, where he sold and repaired pianos, and gave piano lessons. She took lessons from him, and he also made sure she was educated in music theory, counterpoint, harmony, and composition. She had her first recital...

Louise Farrenc (May 31, 1804 - Sept. 15, 1875) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer. Born in Paris, she started the piano at an early age, and later on also showed a knack for composition. At the age of fifteen, her parents let her study composition with Anton Reicha at the Paris Conservatory. Later on she embarked upon a...

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (Sept. 5, 1867 - December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist.  Extremely gifted from a young age, Beach's talents seemed to run in the family, with various members playing instruments or singing, and showing great aptitude for music. Beach was exceptionally talented, having learned 40 songs around the age of one, and at two...

Sophie Menter (July 29, 1846 - Feb. 23, 1918) was a German pianist and composer, born to musical parents. At the age of fifteen she soloed with an orchestra, and her concertizing after that took her all around Germany and Switzerland. Menter would go on to be known for her interpretations of Franz Liszt's compositions, and she actually studied with...

Marie-Juliette Olga "Lili" Boulanger (Aug. 21, 1893 - March 15, 1918) was a French composer, and  the younger sister of the famed composition teacher/composer Nadia Boulanger. Born in Paris, Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy; at the age of two, it was discovered that she had perfect pitch. Her parents, both musicians, encouraged her musical education, and she accompanied her sister Nadia...