# Best female composers before 1960



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

There is a wealth of great compositions by a small number of known female composers before the contemporary era and as a supporter of women composers i would like to let them to be known by our members.1960 refers to composition date.Ideally we should try to identify all the significant composers and i need members to be pro-active. As a general comment i dare to say that likes have little value, so i expect reactions and posts from all. As an appetiser i will post three pieces from 3 composers. Feel free to post more from these and other composers.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

O virtus sapientiae by Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) played by the Kronos Quartet. Simply timeless.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Mesmerizing Etudes composed by Hélène de Montgéroult (1764-1836) beautifully played by Clare Hammond.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Good start with Hildegard. I have 13 CD's of her work, including the Sequentia "Complete Works" box on Sony. If one would like to try just one CD, I'd recommend A Feather on the Breath of God by The Gothic Voices on Hyperion.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

The mighty Piano Concerto by Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940). She would have been one of the top female composers of the 20th century if she had lived longer.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Art Rock said:


> Good start with Hildegard. I have 13 CD's of her work, including the Sequentia "Complete Works" box on Sony. If one would like to try just one CD, I'd recommend A Feather on the Breath of God by The Gothic Voices on Hyperion.


Good choice Art Rock, but there are many other gems by this composer. Let us hope other members will identify them.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

justekaia said:


> The mighty Piano Concerto by Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940). She would have been one of the top female composers of the 20th century if she had lived longer.


Listening right now. This is interesting, I only know her from a CD of piano works that left me luke warm (an effect solo piano often has on me), but this is a very worthwhile piece. Thanks.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Ethel Smyth: Concerto for Violin, Horn and Orchestra (1927)

Dame Ethel Mary Smyth DBE (22 April 1858 – 8 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended to be marginalised as a ‘woman composer’, as though her work could not be accepted as mainstream. Yet when she produced more delicate compositions, they were criticised for not measuring up to the standard of her male competitors. Nevertheless, she was granted a damehood, the first female composer to be so honoured (from Wiki).


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Two more works by Ethel Smyth:

The Wreckers (Overture) (1906):






Actually, the complete opera The Wreckers is worthwhile.


Mass in D (1891):






Perhaps her most famous work.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

you hit the target on first: her concerto for violin, horn and orchestra is my favourite work of hers; her Mass in D is tremendous as well and i would also recommend her violin sonata; the wreckers is a very pleasant work; thks for your contribution


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Personally I think the ones of most interest are from after 1960, some exceptions being Hildegard, Kapralova, the Boulangers, Levina, early Ustvolskaya, some Beach, and *Ruth Crawford Seeger:

Piano Study in Mixed Accents:*





*9 Preludes:*





*String Quartet:*


----------



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (1665 -1729) is described as the "miracle of our century" in the _Musicalisches Lexicon_ of 1732. According to Edouard Titon du Tillet, author of the important biographical chronicle, _Le Parnasse françois _(1727-1755)_, "_It can be said that never a person of her gender possessed such great talent for musical composition and for the admirable way in which she played the harpsichord and the organ." As a virtuoso as well as a composer, she became known and recognized during her lifetime. Her opera _Céphale et Procris_, a tragédie-lyrique with prologue and five acts, is the first opera ever performed by a French female composer at the Opéra Paris.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

joen_cph said:


> Personally I think the ones of most interest are from after 1960, some exceptions being Hildegard, Kapralova, the Boulangers, Levina, early Ustvolskaya, some Beach, and *Ruth Crawford Seeger:
> 
> Piano Study in Mixed Accents:*
> 
> ...


i agree with you, but there are some sublime pieces produced by earlier female composers and i think we should listen to these works which were not fully appreciated during their eras; as you all know i appreciate classical music from all eras and from both genders


----------



## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

justekaia said:


> i appreciate classical music from all eras and from both genders


I don't listen to or classify music by gender. I am not even all that comfortable with so doing. Evaluating or exploring by gender. Am I woke or non woke to be gender unconcerned? I just care about the music. 

Peace


----------



## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

justekaia said:


> O virtus sapientiae by Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) played by the Kronos Quartet. Simply timeless.


Please correct me if I am wrong, but Hildegard Von Bingen only composed monophony.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Haydn70 said:


> Please correct me if I am wrong, but Hildegard Von Bingen only composed monophony.


you are correct. Marianne Pfau arranged the music by Von Bingen for string quartet in 1997 and as it happened it is one of my favourite pieces of music of all times and connects early music with contemporary music which are my two favourite periods in classical music, so i could not resist the temptation to start the thread with this otherworldly piece.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I'm definitely not an expert, but some are pointing to that the troubadour tradition of the day, likely an inspiration for her, might have included more advanced instrumental accompanying, and that the evolving polyphony of the ND School in Paris was contemporary with her. Also, her music produces overtones.


----------



## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) belong to the league of the really great female composers. The former wrote mostly symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano music, all of that of high quality; the latter focused on vocal and choral works which are nothing less than sublime. Lili could have developed a magnificent career as a composer had she lived longer.


----------



## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

Elizabeth MACONCHY: *String Quartet No. 5* (1948)
:: Bingham Quartet [Unicorn-Kanchana] ~17½ minutes






This highly wrought, grimly determined, industrial-strength quartet has an austere passion and intensity that put it in a pigeonhole, or a nearby pigeonhole, with Ernest Bloch’s String Quartet No. 3 (1952). Both works owe a debt to Bartók, with Maconchy taking a slightly more sinewy tack, Bloch a slightly more rhythmically trenchant one. William Schuman also comes to mind in a general sort of way, as his works of the period have a similarly grim, hard-won character about them. If I occasionally hear a gesture here and there that sort of/kind of reminds me of some other composer—maybe Britten or Shostakovich—it’s a tenuous and passing thing at most.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

MusicSybarite said:


> Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) belong to the league of the really great female composers. The former wrote mostly symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano music, all of that of high quality; the latter focused on vocal and choral works which are nothing less than sublime. Lili could have developed a magnificent career as a composer had she lived longer.


Yes, I will feature both.


----------



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Fanny Mendelssohn and Louise Farrenc are obvious picks, but Augusta Holmes is also an enjoyable Wagner-esque composer.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

MusicSybarite said:


> Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) belong to the league of the really great female composers. The former wrote mostly symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano music, all of that of high quality; the latter focused on vocal and choral works which are nothing less than sublime. Lili could have developed a magnificent career as a composer had she lived longer.


Yes to both of these choices. Lili Boulanger, along with Lekeu, Gershwin and so many others, is one of the great tragedies of the 20th Century. What might have been! I hear Boulanger as a link between Fauré and Debussy.


----------



## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Amy Beach,Florence Price


----------



## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

MusicSybarite said:


> Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) belong to the league of the really great female composers. The former wrote mostly symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano music, all of that of high quality....


I have long recommended Bacewicz strongly as a superb composer and one of the finest of the 20th century, on the basis of her Concerto for String Orchestra (of which I have an excellent Conifer Classics recording by the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra conducted by Duczmal). The concerto begins vigorously with an Allegro first movement that is quite engaging.

There are several YouTube recordings that provide the complete concerto, but for quality I prefer the following one, by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, which presents the movements in separate videos.


----------



## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

Doreen Carwithen has orchestral and film music to her name. I like her string quartets, although much of the music was overshadowed by her more famous composer husband William Alwyn. Thankfully, her music has received some fine recordings.

String Quartet 2 (1952)


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

That sounds really good. I didn't know this composer. And of course, the Brits have a great tradition with music for strings ...


----------



## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

joen_cph said:


> That sounds really good. I didn't know this composer. And of course, the Brits have a great tradition with music for strings ...


Only a couple of recordings of her music, but worth checking out. Some on Chandos for orchestra, a Dutton release of some film music, and this recording of chamber music on Somm. I haven't checked out her piano or solo instrumental music yet.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Yeah, I checked the Presto, JPC and CDON websites, and some CDs are still in stock.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

joen_cph said:


> That sounds really good. I didn't know this composer. And of course, the Brits have a great tradition with music for strings ...


I agree with you Joen. Carwithen is quite a find and she was not on my list. her string quartet is beautiful. Congrats Xenophiliu.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Beautiful song by Francesca Caccini (1587-1641), the first woman who composed a complete opera.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Fanny Mendelssohn's (1805-1847) excellent string quartet played by the Quatuor Ebène.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Florence Price's (1887-1953) second movement of her third symphony conducted by Nézet-Séguin.


----------



## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

*Marie Jaëll* _(1846 - 1925)_
Pièces pour piano d'après une lecture de Dante, Ce qu'on entend dans l'enfer, le purgatoire, le paradis


----------



## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

*Marianna Martines* _(1744 -1812)_
Overture ("Sinfonia") in C major


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Suor Leonora d’Este



https://musicasecreta.org/product/lucrezia-borgias-daughter



Beatriz de Dia









Comtessa de Dia


Comtessa de Dia Discography at Discogs




www.discogs.com





Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre


----------



## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

bagpipers said:


> Amy Beach,Florence Price


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Diporti di Euterpe by Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) sung by Emoke Barath.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Sonata duodecima by Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Amy Beach's (1867-1944) Gaelic Symphony


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Cantata Il Prima Amore by Marianna Martines (1744-1812) sung by Nuria Rial.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya's Grand Duo for cello and piano composed in 1959.


----------



## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Elisabeth Lutyens

1940: Chamber Concerto No. 1, Opus 8
1946: O Saisons, ô Châteaux, Opus 13
1957: Six Tempi for Ten Instruments, Opus 42


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Croatian composer Dora Pejacevic's (1885-1923) excellent symphony conducted by Oramo


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Louise Farrenc's (1804-1875) 3rd symphony played by the Philharmonic of Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Lucija Garuta's (1902-1977) Piano Concerto (1952) with Liene Circene as soloist acompanied by the Latvian National Opera Orchestra conducted by Ozolins


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Ukrainian Zara Levina's (1906-1976) first piano concerto (1942) played by Lettberg accompanied by the Ukrainian Radio SO conducted by Matiakh. This composer has another excellent piano concerto, 2 piano sonates and some excellent chamber music to her credit.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Andrew Kenneth said:


> *Marie Jaëll* _(1846 - 1925)_
> Pièces pour piano d'après une lecture de Dante, Ce qu'on entend dans l'enfer, le purgatoire, le paradis


I just want to thank you Andrew for posting Marie Jaëll. I have listened to her entire piano music and every piece is outstanding. She was also quite a personality as she invented new systematic piano methods and studied with Liszt, Saint-Saëns and César Franck. I will also listen to her cello concerto.


----------



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Grażyna Bacewicz, a violinist/composer who survived World War II and Stalinism with her artistic vision intact, has been called the ‘first lady of Polish music’. She was admired by Witold Lutosławski as ‘one of the foremost women composers of all time’. As a composer Bacewicz was extremely prolific. She wrote seven violin concertos, two cello concertos, as well as concertos for piano and for viola, plus four symphonies, seven string quartets, five violin sonatas, and a vast amount of chamber music, piano music, vocal music, and two ballets.


----------



## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

no one has mentioned Clara Schumann yet


----------



## FastkeinBrahms (Jan 9, 2021)

One of my favourite piano cds: Das Jahr by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. A unique composition of short pieces for every month of the year.









Fanny Hensel: Das Jahr


Fanny Hensel schrieb 1841 ihren meisterhaften Klavierzyklus "Das Jahr", in dem sie die Eindrücke einer Italienreise verarbeitet. Als Komponistin stand sie stets im Schatten ihres Bruders Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Dabei zeigt das Werk eindrucksvoll das Potential dieses Ausnahmetalents. (Autor...




www1.wdr.de


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Germaine Tailleferre's (1892-1983) wonderful violin and piano sonata played by Marin on the violin and Ariagno on the pianoforte.The iron and influential lady at the turn of the century who was part of the famous"Groupe des Six".


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Welsh composer Grace Williams' (1906-1977) monochromatic strong work called Sea Sketches (1944) expressing her desire to return to the beaches of Wales during her stressful stay in London. Atherton conducts the English chamber orchestra.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Fantasie for pianoforte, a modern sounding piece for piano by Maria Theresa von Paradis (1759-1824) interpreted by Perry Mears. The beguiling Sicilienne is probably a spurious work.


----------



## FastkeinBrahms (Jan 9, 2021)

Impressive piece with real depth. Which is the siciliano? The Andante seemed a bit out of character.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

FastkeinBrahms said:


> Impressive piece with real depth. Which is the siciliano? The Andante seemed a bit out of character.





FastkeinBrahms said:


> Impressive piece with real depth. Which is the siciliano? The Andante seemed a bit out of character.


The Sicilienne is a separate, very famous piece for violin and piano. But it is probably not written by von Paradis. That is why i chose the fantasie for pianoforte which has like you say real depth.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Cécile Chaminade's (1857-1944) Piano Trio no 1 (1881) played by the Tzigane Piano trio


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Rebecca Clarke's (1886-1979) gorgeous viola sonata.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Sophie-Carmen Eckhard-Gramatté's (1899-1974) Sonata no 5 from 1950 played by the virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin, who recorded her piano sonatas. Eckhardt was born in Russia but emigrated to Canada where she developed her career.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Clara Schumann's (1814-1896) superlative Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann played by David Korevaar.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Nadia Boulanger's (1887-1979) impressive piece "Fantaisie variée for piano and orchestra" with Eric Le Sage as soloist accompanied by the Radio France PO conducted by Leonardo Garcia Alarcon


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Lili Boulanger's (1893-1918) tone poem "D'un Matin de Printemps", a delicate piece of music shows us what we lost when she died at the age of 24. The Seattle Symphony is conducted by Macelaru.


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

-Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179): O virtus sapientiae, A Feather on the Breath of God
-Francesca Caccini (1587-1641): Lasciatemi qui solo
-Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677): Diporti di Euterpe
-Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704): Sonata duodecima
-Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729): Violin Sonata no 1 ; Suite in A minor ; Céphale et Procris
-Marianna Martines (1744-1812): Cantata Il Prima Amore ; Sinfonia in C major
-Maria Theresa von Paradis (1759-1824): Fantasie for pianoforte
-Hélène de Montgéroult (1764-1836): 29 Etudes
-Louise Farrenc (1804-1875): Symphony 2
-Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847): String Quartet, Das Jahr
-Clara Schumann (1814-1896): Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann; Nocturni op 6 no 2; Drei Romanzen op 21
-Marie Jaëll (1846-1925): Dans les Flammes (from Pièces pour piano d’après une lecture de Dante)
-Augusta Holmes (1847-1903): Andromède, symphonic poem
-Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944): Piano Trio no 1
-Ethel Smyth (1858-1944): Concerto for violin, horn and orchestra; The Wreckers; Mass in D
-Amy Beach (1867-1944): Gaelic Symphony
-Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923): Symphony op 41
-Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979): Viola Sonata
-Florence Price (1887-1953): Piano Concerto; Third Symphony (2nd movement)
-Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979): Fantaisie variée for piano and orchestra
-Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983): Sonata for violin and piano
-Lili Boulanger (1893-1918): D’un Matin de Printemps for orchestra
-Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (1899-1974): Piano Sonata no 5
-Ruth Crawford-Seeger (1901-1953): String Quartet; Piano Study in mixed accents; 9 Preludes for piano
-Lucija Garuta (1902-1977): Piano Concerto
-Elisabeth Lutyens (1906-1983): 7 Preludes, Chamber Concerto 1, O Saisons O Chateaux, Six Tempi for ten instruments
-Zara Levina (1906-1976): Piano Concerto 1
-Grace Williams (1906-1977): Sea Sketches
-Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994): SQ 5
-Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969): Concerto for orchestra, Piano Quintet no 2, Pensieri notturni
-Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940): Piano Concerto in D minor
-Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003): SQ 2

We have made headway with this thread and i thank all the members who made substantial contributions. The list above of works already featured is meant to show where we are at this point, but i am sure there is more to come.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*Henriëtte Bosmans *

Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans (6 December 1895 – 2 July 1952) was a Dutch composer and pianist. I like her Poème for cello and orchestra in particular.

Poème for cello and orchestra (1923)





Piano Concertino (1928)





Sonata for cello and piano (1919)


----------



## FastkeinBrahms (Jan 9, 2021)

Wow, very lush orchestration, and a beautiful pastoral entry by the cello.


----------

