# Women Classical Composers



## Elizabeth de Brito (Feb 10, 2016)

This thread is just for discussion on women composers, suggested people, suggested listening, everything to do with composers that are women - concerts, CD's, lists of faves.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

There have been a number 
of fine threads on the subject:
https://www.talkclassical.com/53907-female-composers-12.html#post1394698
https://www.talkclassical.com/15576-female-composers-5.html#post216391


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

there were already several similar threads here
Female Composers

if you are interesting in listening to more female composers, there is a game running in the games subsection. We are currently at round 14 out of 25
Game (prelim round 14/25): works by female composers
here is a list of all the compositions we are listening to and voting about them
Game (nominations): Works by female composers


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## Elizabeth de Brito (Feb 10, 2016)

I'll post on that then- I searched for women composers and didn't find anything.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

An orchestra I'm involved with as player, sometimes conductor, board member, and asst librarian has put everyone on notice: 2020 will commemorate 100 years since the suffragette movement got women the right to vote in the US. EVERY concert WILL have at least one work by a woman composer. You have no idea how challenging this is going to be.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Thea Musgrave
Sofia Gubaidulina
Saariaho
Lili Boulanger
Amy Beach
Unsuk Chin
Adriana Holzsky
Joan Tower

All living composers with the exception of Beach and Boulanger.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I am a huge fan of:

Joan Tower
Thea Musgrave
Sofia Gubaidulina
Jennifer Higdon
Kaija Saariaho
Augusta Read Thomas 
Olga Neuwirth

Are all exceptional.

A very recent discovery for me, is Icelandic composer, Anna Thorvaldsdottir. So far, everything I've heard from her is extremely good.


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## rw181383 (Aug 4, 2017)

Here in San Antonio, the Classical Music Institute’s 2018-19 season will include these works (among others):

Dobrinka Tabakova - Concerto for Cello and Strings
Alyssa Weinberg - Parallels
Grazyna Bacewicz - Violin Sonata No. 4
Grazyna Bacewicz - Concerto for String Orchestra
Galina Ustvolskaya - Concerto for Piano, String Orchestra, and Timpani 

Should be very exciting!


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## Guest (Dec 12, 2018)

Bauckholt is very good too, worth a listen.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Another one to listen to is the Israeli-American composer Shulamit Ran. Some of her works are very nice. Quite modern.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Simon Moon said:


> I am a huge fan of:
> 
> Joan Tower
> Thea Musgrave
> ...


Given this list, I have two more to suggest to you: Beata Moon and Judith Lang Zaimont.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Elizabeth de Brito said:


> I'll post on that then- I searched for women composers and didn't find anything.


No, no, by all means, let's discuss!

I've been listening lately to Ellen Taaffe Zwillich, her Flute Concerto. This is fine music, and I consider her to be one of the most important female composers.

Another interesting figure is Ruth Crawford Seeger. I'd like to get more of her music, and I hope she is recorded more than she has been thus far.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)




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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

mbhaub said:


> An orchestra I'm involved with as player, sometimes conductor, board member, and asst librarian has put everyone on notice: 2020 will commemorate 100 years since the suffragette movement got women the right to vote in the US. EVERY concert WILL have at least one work by a woman composer. You have no idea how challenging this is going to be.


Do you think? I don't know. There are a lot of women composers out there now and there are a lot of historical women composers also who are finally being appreciated. Our local symphony is pretty open to new things and won't have any problems. In fact, Conni Elisor's Blackberry Winter is almost the equivalent of a hit song around here.

Of course, I wish our symphony would program Gloria Coates, but even for them, Gloria is a stretch.


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

millionrainbows said:


>


Perhaps the most famous of the many John Boda composition students that are scattered all over the musical globe. (There are at least two of us that post here.) Ellen Taaffe Zwillich is the real deal; the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize For Music. Her _Symphony No 1 _ is ab so lute ly awesome!


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

A few days ago I greatly enjoyed this piece by a composer I had never heard of:


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2018)

mbhaub said:


> An orchestra I'm involved with as player, sometimes conductor, board member, and asst librarian has put everyone on notice: 2020 will commemorate 100 years since the suffragette movement got women the right to vote in the US. EVERY concert WILL have at least one work by a woman composer. You have no idea how challenging this is going to be.


How many concerts do you play per year? What makes this particularly challenging? If the pieces are relatively short and mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries it probably won't take too much effort for the players to learn new repertoire. Often enough orchestral players have played the same repertoire so much that little to no rehearsal is needed before a concert, so it's good to make orchestras actually do some interesting work from time to time.


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