Music Meets Drama

  “I feel I must fight for (my music), because I want women to turn their minds to big and difficult jobs; not to just go on hugging the shore, and afraid to put out to sea. ”   Dame Ethel Smyth –  1902 letter to her collaborator Henry Brewster Yes, Gena Branscombe and Ethel Smyth met.   During the Summer of 1935, while Gena was visiting her daughter in England, a visit was arranged between the two composers. There must have been a shared tea with a discussion of women composers of their era! #BringingBackBranscombe

  In late March I received an e-mail asking me to review pianist Jennifer King’s recording, Souvenance .   I highly recommend listening to this recording, not just once, but many, many times. Congratulations to Jennifer on a beautiful presentation of Romances, Nocturnes and a Meditation composed by eight women composers. https://www.jenniferkingpiano.com/ https://lnk.to/souvenance You can buy or stream the recording on almost any platform.  Enjoy! Here’s my review: Nineteenth century French Impressionist painters created works of art depicting night.  Their use of darkly hued colors affects our senses.  Not to be outdone, French Impressionist composers took up the word “Nocturne” and began creating short works, that similar to the paintings, created the sense of night employing the colors a pianist infuses in their playing.  Jennifer King’s newly released CD; Souvenance is a delectable presentation of Nocturnes, Romances and a Meditation composed by ...

  Ludwig van Beethoven, Jean Sibelius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, JS Bach, Frederic Chopin, Anton Bruckner, Robert Schumann, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Brahms, Luigi Boccherini, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Hector Berlioz, and Richard Wagner.  What do all of these composers have in common?  First, they are all men and second, they have statues of their likeness in public squares across Europe and some in the United States.    Chris Wiley, of London, England, recently posted on Facebook that a statue of composer/suffragette Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) had been unveiled in her home town of Woking, England.   The unveiling, appropriately, was held on International Women’s Day, March 8 th .     Dame Ethel Smyth’s legacy as a composer and suffragette is exemplary for those of us who have come after her.   She studied at the Leipzig Conservatory.   She   met Clara Schumann and J ohannes Brahms.   She composed instrumental...

Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (1858-1944) Born in London, Dame Ethel Smyth was determined from a young age to become a composer.  Her musical talent granted her admission to the Leipzig Conservatory of Music where she met the leading composers of the day, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Grieg!  Through her composition teacher she was introduced to Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.  Not a bad start for a student in the music world! Her compositions include songs, piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, a Concerto for Violin, Horn and Orchestra, a Mass in D and two operas, "The Wreckers" and "Der Wald" which was performed at the Metropolitan Opera.  Deafness prevented her from composing any other major works or ever hearing her music performed and accepted by adoring orchestra and audience members.   Unfortunately for Dame Smyth and all other women composers, their music was always labeled as that of a "woman composer" and not as artistically vi...