Women Composers of the Romantic Period

[adriano]

Thanks, Balapoel.
Cannot find the time for further research this year; I am in the midst vocal score and orchestral score editings and other preparations with my next Fritz Brun CD and of a Fritz Brun video documentary, but will certaily look after all this.

[thalbergmad]

Although not of the romantic period, but definately of the romantic genre is Miriam Hyde with her Racmaninovian piano concertos.

I think she was discussed here a long time ago.

Thal

[Christopher]

Uh-oh Ilja, get ready for a slap-down...!

[Balapoel]

She (and others) were in my original list, but rather than incur the wrath of the sentinels, I erred on the side of extra caution.

[Alan Howe]

There's no problem with Hyde.
Signed:  A. Sentinel

[Amphissa]

Nina Makarova -- contemporary with Zena Levina, who is already on your list. In fact, this CD has works by both of these women composers.
http://www.amazon.com/Nina-Makarova-Symphony-Concerto-Russian/dp/B000001LPH/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1427637845&sr=1-1&keywords=Zara+Levina

She was a student of Myaskovsky and married to Aram Khachaturian. I put together information regarding her works for the Soviet Composers website here -- http://home.online.nl/ovar/makarova.htm

[thalbergmad]

    http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Brussel                 

Josephine Clasine van Brussel 1808-1851

Once briefly mentioned here. Wrote a Kalkbrennerish set of variations that was almost in my repertoire.

Thal

[eschiss1]

Seems worthy of investigation for those interested in vocal music (which I am, as well as other things...): Kate (Letitia Katherine) Vannah (1855-1933). (Not much biographical material I can find, but an 1897 biography is reproduced here.) A song of hers, along with C.K. Rogers' violin sonata in D minor and other works by women (Beach, Chaminade, Mary Knight Wood, Maude Valerie White, and others) that were performed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, could once be found on a 1991 Koch International Classics CD ("Women at an exposition".) Haven't heard this myself yet, but I think a nearby college (Ithaca College, practically next door- well, not exactly; but relatively!) has a copy, so maybe...

[adriano]

Nina Makarova's Symphony is a very valuable work. It was composed in 1962 and recorded by Melodiya in 1967. This is the version re-issued on Russian Disc. A CD with music by Marakova and her husband is Russian Disc RCDC 000517 (produced in 1999), featuring Nina's Two pieces for Violin and Orchestra, Two pieces for Cello and Piano and Two Pieces for Harp - coupled with her husband's Violin Concerto. Nina was a very attractive woman and a pupils of Myaskovsky; in fact it was at the time of her Conservatory classes she met with Aram. She graduated in 1936, two years later than the latter.

[semloh]

Since Hadrianus has extended "Women Composers of the Romantic Period" to include women of a later period who compose(d) in the romantic style, I simply can't resist an opportunity to encourage members to explore the music of my favourite female composer, the Ukrainian, Alla Pavlova - all available on superb Naxos CDs. Although widely described as neo-romantic, it is rather like film music and probably outside the remit of UC, but I hope Mark and Alan will forgive this brief 'heads up'! 

[adriano]

Well semloh, by including Elsa Respighi I just compared her lifedates with most of the ones of the initial list of this thread :-) Then I reacted to the entry on Karen Khachaturian. I am not the principal "guilty guy" :-) So this once more brings up the theme "what exactly is Romantic?", "Romantic period" or "late Romantic?"...

[Alan Howe]

We're not going down this route again - sorry. Let's return to the topic, which is clear enough if you consult UC's definition of 'romantic', i.e. WW1 is our normal terminus ad quem, with the exception of composers who wrote/write in a similar style after that.

[eschiss1]

Also maybe Leokadiya Kashperova (1872-1940) (that she was an early teacher of Stravinsky does not make her un-Romantic); her Op.1 cello sonatas came out around 1890;
Régine Wieniawska "Poldowski" (1879-1932), composer of a violin sonata, an opera, a piano concertante work, and etc.; Jeanne Minsmer (1887-1957) (violin sonata, 1919)...

[Alan Howe]

Nina Makarova's Symphony is very much on the outer limits of our remit: let's remember this, please. In the end, if the incidence of dissonance is too high, it's moving beyond romanticism to what we call 'modern tonal'.

[regriba]

A book has been published in Danish about five women composers, none of whom seems to have been mentioned here: Cora Nyegaard, Emma Hartmann (wife of J. P. E. Hartmann), Frederikke Løvenskiold (mother of Herman Løvenskiold, composer of the ballet "La sylphide" recorded by both Chandos and cpo), Ida d'Fonseca and Henriette Wienecke . They were all active in Denmark in the 19th century. However, since they all composed only songs and piano pieces, they are probably of limited interest to readers here. But I think their stories, especially that of Cora Nyegaard, shed light on the problems facing a musically talented girl in the 19th century.

As long as she was a child and a young girl, Nyegaard could develop her talent without opposition. But when she expressed a wish to study music at a higher, even professional level, her father ruled it out completely. Several of her letters are reproduced in the book where her frustration is obvious: "I feel I have so much to say but I don't know how to do it". After much pestering, she persuaded her father to show some of her compositions to the composer C. E. F. Weyse, but even though his verdict was positive, old Nyegaard still refused to let his daughter study music, claiming that study would "destroy the individuality of her music". Instead, she ended up in an unhappy marriage to a vicar who, according to the book, was her intellectual inferior, and whom she grew to detest. Marriage also put a definitive end to her composing career. However, she did manage to have some hymn tunes published, one of which is actually still sung regularly in Danish churches.

It seems to me that a lot of talent was wasted because of situations like this.