Luise Adolpha Le Beau (1850-1927): 2-6/12/24

[Serial_Apologist]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0025dfh

A German woman composer of competent if (to my mind) somewhat routine music in the styles of Schubert and Mendelssohn. So it is not surprising to learn that Hanslick - the Viennese critic who despised most of Wagner and his successors - seems to have been encouraging if we are led to read between the lines of her memoirs. In yesterday's episode Dr Katy Hamilton, who makes high claims for Le Beau, found evidence of Berliozian and Wagnerian influence in both the harmony and orchestration of the Concert Overture Op 23, but they were not audible to me, nor anything memorable in her predictable melodies. But maybe my ears have been corrupted by too many years of listening to 20th century music!

[smittims]

I've yet to hear any music in this week's programmes to suggest that this composer was worth resurrecting. Her music is utterly derivative, quite lacking in any individuality . Sorry, Donald.

The only explanation is Radio 3's obsession with mediocre women composers . They manage to ignore (quite rightly) most of the mediocre male composers.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I've yet to hear any music in this week's programmes to suggest that this composer was worth resurrecting. Her music is utterly derivative, quite lacking in any individuality . Sorry, Donald.

The only explanation is Radio 3's obsession with mediocre women composers . They manage to ignore (quite rightly) most of the mediocre male composers.

Yes that piano concerto was terrible - completely without an ounce of originality.
The station has targets on the number of female composers to be broadcast and has to meet them somehow. I would prefer it if they focussed on the many good ones. Equally I never want to hear Short Ride In a Fast Machine Again (just on now ) - Adams - a good example of a first rate second rate composer who’s over exposed. There must be female equivalents out there who don’t get played much.

[Master Jacques]

Given the sheer number of fashionable dead mediocrities, inane contemporary populists, and bad film composers promoted to Composer of the Week these days, you'd think that the producers were desperate for new material. Meanwhile, they ignore many little-known, high-quality composers who never get a look in.

In truth, the questing, bold and brave days of this programme (and it's much-loved presenter) are far behind it. It has become a cultural embarrassment, and ought to be scrapped.

[oddoneout]

It is not the airing of such people's output on COTW that I have a reservation about - it does give a chance to hear and make an informed decision about the merits or otherwise - but the risk that it subsequently gets 'taken up'("in response to listener demand") and pushed at the expense of more deserving material.
I have only heard parts of the programmes, but it did strike me that her life and her music would be just the sort of thing to appeal to the CFM audience; pity it can't be offered to them for a consideration...

[Ein Heldenleben]

Given the sheer number of fashionable dead mediocrities, inane contemporary populists, and bad film composers promoted to Composer of the Week these days, you'd think that the producers were desperate for new material. Meanwhile, they ignore many little-known, high-quality composers who never get a look in.

In truth, the questing, bold and brave days of this programme (and it's much-loved presenter) are far behind it. It has become a cultural embarrassment, and ought to be scrapped.

Can you give a Liszt of them ? I can’t stand much more of what you so accurately describe.

[Ein Heldenleben]

It is not the airing of such people's output on COTW that I have a reservation about - it does give a chance to hear and make an informed decision about the merits or otherwise - but the risk that it subsequently gets 'taken up'("in response to listener demand") and pushed at the expense of more deserving material.
I have only heard parts of the programmes, but it did strike me that her life and her music would be just the sort of thing to appeal to the CFM audience; pity it can't be offered to them for a consideration...

Yes if they like incessant unison piano arpeggio passages . And she had the gall to criticise Clara Schumann - a much better composer and, no doubt , pianist.

[kernelbogey]

I heard a small fragment of yesterday's programme by accident. What was astonishing was how, in a male-dominated society, male-dominated musical establishment, she nonetheless fought her corner. And I am alarmed by the misogynistic subtext in this thread.

[smittims]

I've been boring people for years saying that if the BBC really wants to find good female composers why do they persist in totally ignoring Priaulx Rainier and Elisabeth Lutyens? I was listening recently to Rainier's suite for clarinet and piano, The title doesn't promise much but in fact it is a very orginal work , refecting her lonely childhood on the Veldt, listening to the mysterueous sounds of the wind.

Lutyens' second husband annoyed some people at the BBC but it's surely time to bury the hatchet.She wrote some of the most original music written in Britain. And many of her works are very short: Ideal for Radio 3!

[Nick Armstrong]

What was astonishing was how, in a male-dominated society, male-dominated musical establishment, she nonetheless fought her corner. And I am alarmed by the misogynistic subtext in this thread.

Agreed! COTW is primarily a story-telling format and (speaking as a non-woke white bloke) it seems to me that the stories of women who managed to carve out careers as composers in earlier eras are distinctly more interesting than those of men who produced mediocre music. I welcome this week’s series (of which I’ve only heard the first so far).

[smittims]

I must protest against the accusation of misogyny. All the posters here would welcome good music by a female composer. The complaint is that 'male opposition' is beng used as an excuse for her lack of success,when in fact, as we can all hear ,the simple truth is that her music just wasn't very good. Hundreds of male composers failed in this way, but they don't get revived on Radio 3!

[Ein Heldenleben]

There have been some very good to excellent female composers of the week this year - Ethyl Smyth, Elizabeth Maconchy , Johanna Senfter to name but three. It’s just that recently one or two in my view haven’t been quite as good as their on air proponents would lead us to suggest.
I would argue that there should maybe be even more women as a proportion of the total output which is when you look at the whole year not that many,
What I really don’t care for are these smorgasbord weeks e,g, the recent Dance week - full of ok-ish middle of the road pop and light classical,
Next week is another case in point . Unbelievably a Xmas trip round South America with yet another episode on Argentine Tango - the last one was only two or three weeks ago !
It does feature the peerless Teresa Carreno though as composer. I have no idea how good she was in that role

[Ein Heldenleben]

I must protest against the accusation of misogyny. All the posters here would welcome good music by a female composer. The complaint is that 'male opposition' is beng used as an excuse for her lack of success,when in fact, as we can all hear ,the simple truth is that her music just wasn't very good. Hundreds of male composers failed in this way, but they don't get revived on Radio 3!

Lutyens was last Composer of the Week in 2006 it seems. I can find no record of Rainier ever achieving the accolade. I can think of composers of both genders who are not in the same league who have been COTW.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Hmm .This Le Beau piano quartet adagio is really good. Distracted me from my book in fact. Some lovely pedal points, sequences, nice melodic variations on a simple but effective melody with a touch of the Archduke thrown in. Then a rather lightweight plodding scherzo. Bit of a predictable Mendelssohnian finale to be honest but an interesting listen . She had a real liking for question and response melodic phrases - up for the first and then back to the start with the answer - bit of a musical tic. But it’s a welcome addition to a very small repertoire . I think it could well establish a place in it. I wish they’d concentrate on the music and how it works than the somewhat familiar story of battling against the odds. The former is so much more interesting.

[Master Jacques]

I heard a small fragment of yesterday's programme by accident. What was astonishing was how, in a male-dominated society, male-dominated musical establishment, she nonetheless fought her corner. And I am alarmed by the misogynistic subtext in this thread.

There's nothing misogynistic here to be "alarmed" about. When there are so many good living women composers around who don't get a look in, concentrating on dud dead ones, whose music doesn't frighten the horses, is criminal misuse of public funds. I personally don't give a fig about their brave, biographical struggles, when their music is so poor.

As an example, I was covering an event a couple of days ago which made great play with the fact it was including some Dorothy Howell (flavour of the month since her appearance on Composer of the Week). In the event, the most interesting piece on the programme was not Howell's yawn-fest of pseudo-Elgarian nonsense, but a wonderfully alive, communicative and original vocal work by Alison Bauld, who is not only alive but living in London.

And there hadn't been one word in the pre-publicity about her, or her much more interesting music. So who are the misogynists here?