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, […]
Tag: Women in Music
Posted inBarTálk
The Thirty-Year Itch
“Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands, and all you can do is scratch it,” the English conductor Sir Thomas Beecham is said to have told a cellist during a rehearsal. The quip is still played for laughs, dredged up by the likes of Classic FM (“The best […]
Posted inPlaylist
A Norma Beecroft Playlist
The composer Norma Beecroft (1934-2024) was known for works that combined computer-generated and natural acoustic sounds. One among only a few Canadian female composers of her time, Beecroft’s musical formation, beyond her early training in Toronto, came with notable Italian musicians: composers Goffredo Petrassi and Bruno Maderna, and flutist Severino Gazzelloni. Yet her three years […]
Posted inReview
Modal Incantations
Who was Yvonne Loriod? To most, she is known as a virtuoso pianist, an inspirational teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, and the dedicatee of many pieces by Olivier Messiaen, whom she married in 1961. Few are aware that she was also a composer, which is hardly surprising as none of her works were published in […]
Posted inOpinion
She’s a Witch!
Alma Mahler was a witty socialite with an appetite for sex and an eye for talent. By early adulthood, she had become a prolific composer. More than anything, she aspired to be Great, with a capital G. But Alma’s claim to fame, so eloquently outlined in her obituaries, is the long list of geniuses with […]
Posted inReview
Seeking the Truth About Julia Perry
I am always bitter about going to the established-yet-edgy New York venue (Le) Poisson Rouge—their cheapest beer is $10—but their programs make it impossible to stay away. The kickoff event for the Julia Perry Centenary Festival and Celebration on March 13 was no exception. Even more irresistibly, it was one of the first-ever concerts dedicated […]
Posted inReview
An Introduction to Music Herstory
When I enter London’s Brazilian Embassy at 6.49 p.m., “Let HER Music Play” is already six hours old, but only a quarter of the way through. Organized by the Donne Foundation, which advocates for women in the music industry, it’s an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest acoustic live-streamed concert using […]
Posted inBreaking
New Lawsuit Raises Allegations of Sexual Abuse at San Francisco Conservatory of Music
When violinist Lara Michaels auditioned for a place at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), most of the faculty members remained quiet, taking notes on her playing from behind a table. Axel Strauss, a professor of violin and chamber music, was the exception. “He stood up, he came around the table towards me,” Michaels […]
Posted inReport
The Price is Wrong
Of all the marginalized composers who’ve yet to receive the acclaim they deserve—and there are many—Florence Price is perhaps the one closest to getting her flowers. Dedicated work on Price has been happening since the 1970s without fanfare, with scholars like Barbara Garvey Jackson, Rae Linda Brown, and Helen Walker-Hill championing Price’s music. The 2009 […]
Posted inInterview
Everything I Am on This Earth
In Angela Gheorghiu: A Life for Art, a memoir-cum-book-length-interview coauthored with journalist Jon Tolansky, the Romanian soprano recalls an early-career performance of “La traviata” in Salzburg. She was already on edge when she learned that the original conductor had been replaced by Riccardo Muti—whom she had specifically requested not to work with, fearing the Italian […]