Women Composers' Thread/International Women's Day 2015 on R3

[Don Petter]

I was just going to earnestly recommend the twofer of Tailleferre's piano and chamber music on Brilliant (9012). Sixteen piano works on the first CD, played by Cristina Ariagno, and seven varied chamber works on the other, shared between Massimo Marin (violin), Manuel Zigante ('cello) and Cristina Ariagno (piano).

Also, a great favourite of mine, the CD of Chaminade piano works by Eric Parkin on Chandos (CHAN8888).

[salymap]

I've wished for years that the BBC would repeat all the Henry Reed programmes. They were the old 3rd
programme at its best. Margery Westbury as the singer/companion Elsa Strauss.the bewildered Mr. Reeve,trying to interview them all, the military gent. I was young when they were broadcast but I loved them.

[mercia]

I've wished for years that the BBC would repeat all the Henry Reed programmes.

well I've never heard any of them , so shall we start a petition?

[StephenO]

Has anyone recommended Doreen Carwithen yet? Apologies if they have and I've missed it. Although possibly best known for her film scores, she was also a wonderful composer of orchestral works like One Damn Thing After Another and an unjustly neglected Concerto for Piano and Strings. I'm not sure how much of her music is available on CD but there's an excellent recoding of both the above on Chandos from Howard Shelley and the LSO under Richard Hickox.

Glad to see Judith Weir getting a couple of mentions - one of our finest composers, male or female.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I completely forgot about Vitezslava Kaprolova, another tragic early death at the 25 in 1940. Yet again a composer of great gifts who could have been one of the most significant 20th Century composers. She was one of Martinu's most gifted pupils and would have been 96 tomorrow!

[Don Petter]

I've wished for years that the BBC would repeat all the Henry Reed programmes. They were the old 3rd
programme at its best. Margery Westbury as the singer/companion Elsa Strauss.the bewildered Mr. Reeve,trying to interview them all, the military gent. I was young when they were broadcast but I loved them.

So did I. They did get broadcast again in the late '70s, I remember. Presumably they still have them recorded - what a great CD set that would make.

The military gent was General Gland, played by Derek Guyler. 'Say? The bells, the bells, you know. A lovely loud sound!'

[MrGongGong]

IMV one of the main areas in which women have been real pioneers in composition is in electronic and electroacoustic music and particularly in the UK , Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire being two of the most significant and inspirational to a whole generation of younger composers.........but as ever this music seldom reaches broadcast

[mikerotheatrenestr0y]

It looks as though they are available here.

[mercia]

It looks as though they are available here.

oh yes - thanks for that, I don't know anything about MP3 (i'm still living in the dark ages) and wouldn't want to hijack this thread any more than I have already

[Don Petter]

It looks as though they are available here.

[The Hilda Tablet Plays]

Yes. Thanks mike. I did get them from this source a few years ago and burnt some sets for myself and a couple of friends. I'd forgotten where, though. They are quite acceptable off-air recordings (particularly at the price) with only the odd glitch here and there. I still think the BBC should produce a proper set, though. I'd certainly buy it.

[3rd Viennese School]

Maria ? Calix some name like that, appeared on Hear and now in November 2008. Insects in a bottle and all that. Sounded interesting.

I want to hear 12 note Lizzie Lutyens. Read lots about her but they never play her stuff.

I read about the performance of Mare e Miniture when they left out the last 4 minutes. The audience applauded and Elizabeth Lutyens was bowing. Someone said to her “That wasn’t the end. There’s still 4 minutes to go!”
She replied through clenched teeth “It had bxxxxy better be finished!”


3VS

[MrGongGong]

I think you mean Mira Calix
who has done lots of collaborations with the London Sinfonietta and Aldeburgh etc

great stuff indeed

[Lion-of-Vienna]

Many thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. It has certainly given me a lot of names to investigate in the future. I am pleased to see that the general opinion of the messageboarders about women composers is rather more positive than the opinion of certain Sky football commentators about female assistant referees!

I don’t personally detect any difference in the music of female composers and male composers but it would make a very interesting innocent ear style programme to investigate the matter further.

It is interesting that we usually seem to refer to women composers by their full names whereas men are often only given their second name. So it’s Beethoven, Wagner and Brahms but never Beamish, Maconchy and Musgrave. I am also amused when I read older music books to find Amy Beach referred to as Mrs H.H.A.Beach after her husband Henry Harris Aubrey Beach. This is apparently how she referred to herself in her music.

One thing puzzles me. As has been said earlier in the thread, women authors today are far more well known than their musical counterparts. No longer could Gilbert, in The Mikado, refer to “that singular anomaly the lady novelist”. Perhaps in the future we ought to change it to “that singular anomaly the lady symphonist, I’m sure she would be missed, I’ve got her on my list”.

[Uncle Monty]

Yes, but did Amy Beach really understand the Offside law? And was she a looker?

I meant to mention Imogen Holst. Better known for her work in the musical world than for composing, but some of her stuff is delightful. There's a very good new(ish) CD of her string chamber music on the Court Lane label.

What women want and expect to be called is a bit of a nightmare, changing (often very fast) through time and across cultures.

When I got married in 1970, I asked my wife if she'd prefer to keep her own name, partly because it seemed the right question to ask, and partly because she'd lived a lot in Spain, where they do things differently. This was thought by some to be a wildly eccentric suggestion at the time, and she said No anyway, but things have got more complicated than that since then if anything.

Being a chap Of A Certain Age, I'm still not entirely comfortable calling women just by their surnames. It just seems rude. There it is

[Radio64]

Women Composers' Thread/International Women's Day 2015 on R3

Here beginneth the thread (hoping I haven't made any gaffes already)

Details here and here.