Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki recently led the San Francisco Symphony

Article recalls “the glory days of the Women’s Philharmonic” and observes that women conductors are still too rare.  English conductor Jane Glover and Susanna Malkki (from Finland) were both recent guest conductors of the San Francisco Symphony.

this concert (May 7, Monday, at 8 pm) starts with Fanny Hensel’s Cantata, “Job”.   Find the WXXI Classical 91.5 Stream Player here

http://interactive.wxxi.org/listen#fmstream

Here is the schedule for the Broadcasts   http://interactive.wxxi.org/rpo/listings

The Cantata is not very long (ca. 15 minutes), and then is follow by Mahler’s 2nd Symphony.   The one CD of Hensel’s Cantata is now out of print, so this a rare opportunity to hear this work.

But this only really matters in the paper version (which I read first) — online the conductors get links to their websites.  Zhang has been  discussed earlier on this blog; for the record, she serves as Music Director of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi and Artistic Director of the NJO / Dutch Orchestra.

Composer Rain Worthington wrote the post below as a comment to Rob Deemer’s post, A Helpful List .  With her permission, we re-post it here.  LC

I joined the New York Women Composers organization in 1997 when I first began notating music for mixed instruments.  As a self-taught composer, I was excited to join ALL the composers’ membership organizations that I learned about – AMC, ACF, NYWC, and later, IAWM. I eagerly looked forward to moving within this new cultural network, to exchange ideas with colleagues and listen to the wide variety of contemporary composition happening.

A decade later I stepped up to serve as the Director of Development for the NYWC.

The question has arisen from time to time, whether there is still a need for organizations devoted to the promotion of women composers and women’s concert music.

With this, and a grant application, in mind, I did some informal research into the general representation ratios of women composers in such areas as radio broadcasts, grants and awards, and membership in the two big national composers’ membership organizations at the time: AMC and ACF.
As I mentioned, this was a very informal research undertaking on my part. Personally, since I was aware of many women composers, I expected to encounter some discrepancies in the gender representation numbers, but thought it would not be that large a gap.

I was shocked to find this wasn’t the case. Of the several months of radio broadcasts I surveyed from the four classical stations that I had randomly selected, the ratio of women composers’ music played was less than 1%.
The ratio of women recognized in grant programs and awards that I looked at over the past decade was slightly larger, approximately 10-15%.

But nothing came close to reflect the ratio of women’s membership in the national composer organizations which was about one-third women, to two-thirds men.

While I don’t know why the discrepancies still exist in this day and age and in this country, I do know that it is certainly not because of any lack of quality of music being composed by women.

It would be great if concert programs, radio broadcasts, grants and awards could more accurately reflect the overall gender ratio of composers actively working in the field, and yes, many composing high quality contemporary music.

I absolutely agree with your statement that “It is only through awareness that one can identify that “excellent” music to begin with.”
Increased awareness of contemporary women working in the field of composition is not a limitation, but an expansion of resources and knowledge. This provides an enrichment of perspective, rather than a reduction or narrowing.

I commend you for initiating this list, and to the resulting discussion it has generated, including all the additional names posted in the comments.

FYI, the New York Women Composers website a good resource for music by women composers, (many of whom are listed above) with Composer Profile pages, and searchable Catalog, with pdfs & audio samples.

Hilary, ever the educator, is also conducting interviews with the composers of these works so that audiences can gain a better understanding and appreciation of this work. This past week she posted her conversation with Gillian Whitehead.

Enjoy!

Their classical music blog, Deceptive Cadence, highlighted new recordings of works by composer Florence Price (née Smith) – the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra.

Included in the CD are Price’s Symphony No. 1 in e minor, which was premiered by the Chicago Symphony in 1933, and Concerto in One Movement for piano, featuring Karen Walwyn. The CD also features the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble of Columbia College, Chicago with Leslie B. Dunner conducting.

Stop by the NPR site to hear the fourth movement of the Symphony!

You can also purchase a recording Price’s Symphony No. 3 in C minor at the Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy shop.

Read the program notes for the piece here.

The solo violist was Melissa Matson, principal violist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra – the same orchestra that has demonstrated their commitment to the performances of works by women.

Photo by ChicoER.com

You can read the local review from Chico Enterprise-Record here. And do note the connection with Melissa Matson and Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy’s own Liane Curtis! Kudos to the great performances, advocacy, and education that was shared with the musicians and audience of the North State Symphony!

Mel (Mélanie) Bonis (1858-1937) was a prolific French composer. At the time of her death she had penned over 300 compositions, including works for voice, piano solo and four hands, choral music, chamber works, a mass, and works for orchestra. She adopted the pen name of Mel early on to be able to publish and present her works androgynously, and was recognized widely in her lifetime.

Bonis was student of César Franck and classmate of Claude Debussy – Camille Saint-Saëns reportedly said of Bonis’ First Piano Quartet:

I had never believed that a woman could write something such. She knows all the clever tricks of the composer’s trade.

The resistance that Bonis faced from her family was profound, and included an arranged marriage to a twice-widowed man who was 25 years her senior.  The marriage was intended to curtail her music composition and limit her exposure to the community that she once was once so entwined.  She was a mother to nine children (five of whom were from her husband’s previous marriages) and attended to all of her duties in managing multiple estates and their servants, only returning to music later in life.  But she did continue to compose and again regain status and exposure in the music community.

The life and works of Mel Bonis have been better remembered in France than in the United States, largely due to the work of family members to continue to promote the legacy, history, and work of their ancestor. Do visit the official webpage run by Mel Bonis’ family which includes a lengthy biography, photographs, and list of works.  Several compositions by Bonis are available for free through the International Music Score Library Project.

And do take a listen to her work, which I find to be quite inspired!

One of my passions is searching for under-appreciated or overlooked pieces that trigger in me an immediate emotional connection – works, which while unknown, are ones I believe musicians will love to play and audiences will love to hear. This is what I mean by ‘creating classics’.

His enthusiasm for this music is also evident when he speaks of the works:

The season opened with Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” Symphony in September. In October the RPO joined with the Eastman School of Music to present Fanny Mendessohn Hensel’s Hiob, (the review of which can be found here). November brought Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances, and being presented the past two weekends is Peggy Stuart Coolidge’s Blue Planet.

Still to come are works by Karen Tanaka, Clara Schumann, Sofia Guabaidulina and a new piece by Margaret Brouwer.

I am delighted not only in the range and number of pieces being performed, but of the enthusiasm of Remmereit, which I have a feeling will continue. It was just announced that the RPO has been selected for the 2014 Spring For Music festival at Carnegie Hall.

The concert, scheduled for May 7, 2014, will feature Beach’s Symphony.