Women Composers

[mballan]

Personally I do not like having a separate thread for female composers [they should be, in my mind, included in the appropriate thread with their male counterparts].....but following on in tradition from the old PP, here it is [but open to suggestions]?

And for starters a work I have seen many requests for in the past few months [and especially for Oren]- Clara Schumann's Sonata in G minor.

Malcolm

Schumann Clara - Piano Sonata in G minor.pdf

[phikfy]

It would be great if more by Tailleferre could be posted. Her piano 4-hand pieces are just impressively captivating.
Koon

[oren segev]

Thanks alot Malcolm
Oren

[remy]

And for starters a work I have seen many requests for in the past few months [and especially for Oren]- Clara Schumann's Sonata in G minor.

Malcolm

Thanks very much for Clara's Sonata, Malcolm.

The first movement is especially nice.

Now I have something else of her's to enjoy, besides the lovely Nocturne from Soirées Musicales:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Schumann,_Clara

Bart van Oort playing the Nocturne, on a sweet 1837 Erard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_kc-8Ms04


jeremy

[kvizy]

Helene de Mongeroult (1764-1836) was a French aristocrat lady and a virtuosa pianist. During the French revolution, she held a position of professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. She didn't write much, mainly the sonatas you'll find attached here

Enjoy !

kvizy

Montgéroult, H de - Trois sonates op 1.pdf

Montgéroult, H de - Trois sonates op 2.pdf

Montgeroult - Piano Sonatas Op. 5.pdf

[Jean-Séb]

Helene de Mongeroult (1764-1836) was a French aristocrat lady and a virtuosa pianist. During the French revolution, she held a position of professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. She didn't write much, mainly the sonatas you'll find attached here

Thank you, dear kvizy, but she DID write an enormous teaching book full of 972 exercices and 114 etudes : "Cours complet pour l'enseignement du pianoforte", begun around 1795 but published only in 1816, with some etudes clearly announcing Schubert; some of them can be listened freely on the website Musicme (maybe only available in France)
http://www.musicme.com/Helene-De-Montge ... iographie/
Jean-Séb

[midlope]

Interesting, kvizy. Thanks for that reference. I'd never even heard mention of her before.

Jean-Seb, unless Texas has some special entitlement not available to the rest of the United States due to Franco-Texan relations (!) the audio is available in the U.S., and is fascinating for a glimpse (like Hyacinthe Jadin) of the burgeoning romantic period.

***

As to this thread, on one hand, as a male not wanting to overstep his bounds, I feel uncomfortable in classing female composers by their sex (obviously their merit should be judged in the same way as any other composer). But, at the same time, their works were often either looked past or dismissed (both by others and, in some cases, themselves). It's disheartening to read some of the prefaces to the first printed scores of some female composers in the 17th Century--while many male composers used the format to humbly court patrons, women were more likely to play down their abilities due to their sex, as if that was some determinant on ability. I recommend the book, Women Making Music, for anyone interested in the subject.

[Jean-Séb]

Interesting, kvizy. Thanks for that reference. I'd never even heard mention of her before.

Jean-Seb, unless Texas has some special entitlement not available to the rest of the United States due to Franco-Texan relations (!) the audio is available in the U.S., and is fascinating for a glimpse (like Hyacinthe Jadin) of the burgeoning romantic period.

***

As to this thread, on one hand, as a male not wanting to overstep his bounds, I feel uncomfortable in classing female composers by their sex (obviously their merit should be judged in the same way as any other composer). But, at the same time, their works were often either looked past or dismissed (both by others and, in some cases, themselves). It's disheartening to read some of the prefaces to the first printed scores of some female composers in the 17th Century-

Glad that it worked!

I regret I did not take photos or notes of a mural tomb plaque in the Cathedral of Exeter, with an epitaph written by a widower and saying in substance that his poor wife, although being a woman, had been surprisingly sensible!
Jean-Séb

[Richard0428]

A hearty recommendation for two pieces by Chaminade, Les Sylvaines, op. 60 and L'Ondine, op. 101. Chaminade wrote so much delightful music, but these two of all the ones I've looked at so far, really stand out for their sparkling but grateful pianism, lovely thematic and harmonic material (the main theme of L'Ondine is meltingly beautiful) and effectiveness in performance. Both atre on IMSLP: http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Chaminade,_C%C3%A9cile
Anyone else got any especially favorites amid the volumes of pieces Chaminade turned out.
These two pieces will be sharing an upcoming recital with the Trois Monceaux by Lili Boulanger, another ravishing set of pieces that although not unknown are played far less than they should be. Again they're on IMSLP at http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Boulanger,_Lili
The first is especially subtle and fine. Boulanger also wrote a set of Variations for piano which don't seem to be in print as far as I can find. Has anyone come across them?

[ilu]

Cecile Chaminade dedicated this op.135 to Marguerite Labori, another remarkable composer:

Labori-10-Melodies.pdf

Chaminade-La-Barque-d-Amour-op135.pdf