Women Composers of the Romantic Period

[Balapoel]

Thanks! Duly amended.

[jerfilm]

So was Robert Meredith Willson......

[Balapoel]

amended again - not sure how that got in there...

[eschiss1]

Re Faltys, I've seen birth years of 1887 and 1890 but not so early as 1877...
(you list Johanna Mueller-Hermann twice, with different birthyears, I see.)

One can find some others in the IMSLP category here - http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Women_composers.
(E.g. Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska (1834-61), Agathe Backer-Grøndahl (1847-1907), Carrie Williams Krogmann (1863-1943) (I have some music of hers, arr. for piano duet, purchased at a book store iirc), Emma Dahl (1819-96) (song composer (mainly?)) , also though not @IMSLP and (like several composers in Balapoel's list, not "of the Romantic Period", either... e.g. Zara Levina (1906-76), whose music can be found with that of Nina Makarova (1908-76 - married Aram Khachaturian, btw...) on a Russian Disc CD)-- Johanna Senfter (1879-1961, Reger student, symphonist (her 4th symphony is @YouTube, I think...))

Hrm. Senfter, CK Rogers, Maier, Valborg Aulin, (and Amy Beach, Schumann, Mendelssohn-Hensel, Smyth, Andrée, Tailleferre, & Farrenc) - and also Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962) were among those (though not the only ones, of course... ) in the list to be born between- 1800?- and 1900, who contributed very notably, in my opinion, to chamber and/or orchestral music (or "large forms" in general). (Actually, unless one makes "notably" a rather higher bar than we generally do, that list is going to grow rather longer- understandably...) (And also of course Holmès. ... We didn't forget Augusta Holmès? Gah, _definitely!!_ not forgetting Holmès...)

[TerraEpon]

On the subject of Bądarzewska-Baranowska, has anything of hers even been recorded outside of A Maiden's Prayer? There's a bunch of stuff on IMSLP.

[adriano]

And don't forget Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo Respighi (1894-1996), Ottorino's wife! She was a 15 years younger pupil in Respighi's master composer class and a former pupil of Sgambati. They married in 1919. At that time, a woman composer was quite a scandal - besides the fact that her father had been in prison for political reasons. She wrote two operas, two cantatas, orchestral pieces and various songs. During her marriage years she had decided not to compose, she took over again only in the 1940s. In 1942 she participated to a competition for a one-act opera (Il dono di Alcesti"), the winner of which would have been premiered at the Scala - and she got the first prize. After it had been revealed who was behind her psedonym, the press announced: "Now, the Fascist's widow has got the prize". Elsa immediately refused this honour and withdraw herself from Italy's official musical life. We became friends in 1977; she had actually become the most important woman in my life.

[giles.enders]

I had thought of doing a posting about Else Sangiacomo but realised that I did not have a list of her works. Perhaps you could provide a short biography, plus list please. 

Balapoel, The list in blue of those you particularly like are well documented elsewhere.  My purpose was to shine a little light on the unsungs.

[Balapoel]

No worries, Giles. I'm just a sucker for comprehensive lists - you never know when you may find an interesting name to research...

[vicharris]

I once heard a program that was to present lady composers and they listed Karen Kachaturian, that was many years ago, barely in the 70s do I remember some work in which the music world was beginning to look at the many female composers. The earliest I remember learning about in my own "career" of learning about and collecting classical music (in a most non-musicological way) were Marianne Martinez, Amy Beach and Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatte. Also CRI records was beginning to give American composers some attention, and Melodiya and Supraphon were way ahead in producing works by women, even then.
If you haven't run across a huge work by Aaron I. Cohen called "International Encyclopedia of Women Composers" it contains references to probably 5000 composers and has appendices of eras in which they lived, nationalities, types of compositions, even about 250 pictures of them. Aaron I. Cohen was not a musicologist but a town-planner, yet this was his huge labor of love. Under each composers name there are short biographies, bibliographies and lists of work. I don't think this is considered a definitive work, but certainly an extremely interesting one to anyone becoming aware of the importance of woman composers throughout the ages. Actually, the book is out of print but remainders still appear to be available at Berkshire Records for $35, two volumes about 1800 pages. I have enjoyed mine for many years, and have gradually collected a lot of music I first saw mentioned in it.

http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?row=0&brocode=&stocknum=&text=encyclopedia&filter=all&book=1&submit=Search

I don't work for Berkshire but if this work interests you and it's not in your library, here is the page for it.

I have always wanted to hear something by Elsa Respighi, it must have been wonderful for you to actually know her, Adriano. I only recently got to hear works by Gubitosi and Giuranna.

This is the reference work that suggests Louise Farrenc wrote a piano concerto, but if she really did it hasn't been  found to my knowledge. If it is, it will probably be very good.
Things are looking up, I finally got to hear Marie Grandvaal's oboe concerto on CD, the Konzertstuck by Clara Schumann, etc.

Best wishes, Jim

By the way, some of the orchestral works listed by Respighi are: Serenata di maschere, Danza orgiastica, Danza sacra, Danza triste, operas Alcesti, Fior de neve, Samurai, but I think one of the shortcomings is that as earlier mentioned this encyclopedia is not always complete or definitive.
Another thought brought up by this thread was of the wives of male composers who also composed, such as Respighi, Schumann, Alma Mahler, Nina Makarova, et al, can't remember any others just now. And lots of sisters, too I think, Fanny Hensel of course.

[adriano]

Karen Surenovich Kchachaturian is a (male) nephew of Aram Kahachaturian!

[adriano]

Here is a (tentatively) complete catalogue of Elsa Respighi's works, also including her books:

ELSA OLIVIERI SANGIACOMO RESPIGHI
(March 24, 1984 – March 17, 1996)

COMPOSITIONS

Stati d'animo
(Three songs for voice and orchestra, 1916)
Unpublished

Tre canzoni spagnole
(Three Spanish songs with piano accompaniment, 1920)
1. La muerte del Payador
2. Momento
3. Duermete mi alma
Edizioni Ricordi

Quattro brevi liriche dai "Rubayat" di Omar Khayam
(Three short songs for voice and piano, 1920)
Edizione Ricordi

Due liriche su testo francese
(Two songs on French texts for voice and piano, 1920)
1. Berceuse bretonne
2. Je n'ai rien
Edizioni Ricordi

Serenata per maschere
(Symphonic poem for orchestra, 1918)
Unpublished

Suite di danze
(For orchestra, unfinished, undated)
1. Danza triste
2. Danza sacra
3. Danza orgiastica

Fior die Neve
(Musical fairy tale for puppets – unfinished, undated)

La mamma povera
(Song for voice and piano, 1938)
Edizioni Ricordi
First recording: Gramophone HMV AV 46 (1941)
LP reissue: Adriano Records ADR E5 (1979)

Cantare campagnolo
(Song for mezzo-soprano and piano, 1939)
Edizioni Ricordi

Pianto de la Madonna (Lauda drammatica umbra)
(Cantata for soprano, tenor and orchestra, dates pending)
Edizioni Ricordi

Trio per arpa, violino e pianoforte
(Undated, unpublished)

Cantata su Santa Caterina
(For mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra, undated, unpublished)

La ballata delle rose
(For small chorus and chamber orchestra, or voice and chamber orchestra, undated, unpublished)

Il dono di Alcesti
(Opera in one act, 1941, unpublished)

Samurai
(Opera in 3 acts, 1943?, unpublished)


BOOKS

Ottorino Respighi
(Biography, 1954)
1. Original Italian version (1954)
2. German translation by Arthur Scherle (1962, abridged)
3. English translation by Gwyn Morris (1962, abridged)
Edizioni Ricordi

Il teatro di Respighi – Opere, balli e balletti
(In collaboration with Leonardo Bragaglia, 1978)
Bulzoni Editore

Cinquant'anni di vita nella musica
(Memoirs 1905-1955)
1. Original Italian version (Rebellato Editore 1985)
2. English translation by Giovanni Fontecchio and Roger Johnson (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1994)

Venti lettere a Mary Webs (a novel)
Casa Editrice Ceschina (1957)

Via con gli uomini (a collection of short stories)
Trevi Editore (1975)

(This is my old list of 1996. No time for the moment for further researching, neither for writing a short biography)

Read also 2 of my conversations with Elsa on:
http://www.adrianomusic.com/resources/1977-1978-Elsa.pdf

[eschiss1]

Not knowing that e.g. Michele is (often? always?) a male Italian name and Karen a male Armenian name (though the latter is female in other languages) - e.g., e.g., etc. etc. ! - and making assumptions about names like Lindsay (not to mention pseudonymous composers such as the songwriter Mary Earl, born Robert Keiser, used a number of other pseudonyms e.g. Robert King) - can cause a bit of a problem here without a doubt...

[adriano]

The Italian version of Michael is Michele for a male and Michela for a female. Michaela is the German female.

[Balapoel]

Thanks, Adriano for the list. I found references for a few other? compositions that may link with your list.

3 canti corali for chorus (1939)
3 Canzone spagnole for soprano and orchestra (1917) (arrangements of the songs for soprano and piano?)
Intermezzo romantico for viola, flute, harp, and orchestra (1942) - maybe an arrangement of part of the Piano Trio you mention?

[Ilja]

One as yet unlisted female composer whose work I've enjoyed much is Lūcija Garūta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lūcija_Garūta), a Latvian (1902-1977) who mainly wrote pieces for the piano, but also cantatas, chamber music and a fine piano concerto (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0iaMpJ8-iI).