Last month, Resonus Classics released an album of orchestral compositions by Avril Coleridge-Taylor, the daughter of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and a composer whose works defied the gendered and racialized expectations of her time. The project, which includes the world premiere recording of her Piano Concerto, was realized by pianist-scholar Dr. Samantha Ege, conductor Dr. John Andrews, musicologist Dr. Leah Broad, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. I spoke with them about meeting the composer’s descendants, transcribing autograph scores, interpreting music with no existing reference recordings, and confronting the complexities of a life in the shadow of a famous father.
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