#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4, 2025

 March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music. 

Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/24/25 Dora Pejačevič (1885-1923) Piano quartet in D minor, Op 25

Pejacevic was one of Croatia's most important composers and a talented pianist. Her piano quintet was written in 1908, when she was only 23.

 

03/25/25 Florence Price (1887-1953): Piano concerto in One Movement

Price composed her concerto in 1934 and premiered it at the Chicago Musical College. The score was considered lost until it was found in her former residence in 2009.

 

03/26/25 Clara Schumann (1819-1896) Drei Romanzen, Op. 21

Clara Schumann composed relatively few compositions. Her Three Romances was one of her last works, written in 1853. At the time she was 34, a mother of 7, and concertizing throughout Europe.

 

03/27/25 María Teresa Prieto (1896-1982): Cuadros de la Naturaleza, Diptico para Orquesta 1965

Prieto was a Spanish composer who spent most of her life in Mexico. Her music blended 12-tone technique with Mexican traditional music.

 

03/28/25 Louise Farrenc (1804–1875): Trio for flute, cello, and piano, Op. 45

Farrenc was a piano virtuoso and composer. In her lifetime, she was one of the most famous and respected musicians in Paris.

Next month:

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 3, 2025

 March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music. 

Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the third week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/17/25 Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1709-1758): Argenore Overture

Wilhelminie was the older sister of Frederick the Great. Like her brother, she was a talented amateur musician and composer. This is the overture to her 1740 opera.

 

03/18/25 Anna Bon (c.1739-c.1767): Flute sonata in D major, Op. 1 No. 4

Anna was the daughter of professional musicians. The family came to work at the Esterhazy estate under Franz Joseph Haydn. Bon was a harpsichordist as well as a composer.

 

03/19/25 Marianne von Martinez (1744-1812): La Tempesta

Martinez was a talented harpsichordist, singer, and composer. "La Tempesta" was most likely premiered by Martinez herself.

 

03/20/25 Josepha Barbara von Auernhammer (1758-1820): Soanta for Harpsichord and Violin in C major

Auerhammer was well-known in Vienna as a performer and composer. Mozart admired her technique and dedicated two of his violin sonatas to her.

 

03/21/25 Emilie Mayer (1812–1883): Symphony No. 1 in C minor

The only thing holding Mayer back was her gender. She published over 50 works, wrote 8 symphonies, and was co-chair of the Berlin Opera Academy.

 

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 2, 2025

 March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music. 

Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the second week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

3/10/25 Francesca Caccini (1587–1640?): O Che Nuovo Stupor

Her father was one of the first opera composers, and Francesca herself wrote incidental music for plays by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, grand-nephew of Michelangelo.

3/11/25 Leonora Duarte (1610–1678): Sinfonia No. 4

Duarte was an accomplished instrumentalist. She played the lute, virginal, and viol. She composed a set of seven sinfonias for the viol, probably in the late 1620s.

 

03/12/25 Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677): Cantate, Ariette e Duetti No. 16, Op. 2

Strozzi was a talented instrumentalist, singer, and composer. In the 1670s she had the most secular music in print of any composer, male or female.

 

03/13/25 Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704): Sonata duodecima

Leonarda entered a convent at age 16. But her talent for composition extended far beyond its walls. She published 20 collections of her music and was known as the Muse of Novara.

 

Mlle Bocquet (early 17th C.-after 1660): Gigue

We don't know her first name or much about her life. But she was once considered one of the best lutenists in Paris and her music was widely distributed throughout Western Europe.

 

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 1 2025

 March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music. 

Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the first week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/03/25 Kassia (c. 810- before 865): Hymn of Kassia

Kassia is the earliest known woman composer. She was a noblewoman in Constantinople who became an Eastern Orthodox Abbess and founded an order of nuns. She composed over 40 hymns, many of which are still used in church services to this day.

 

03/04/25 Hildegard von Bingen: (1098-1179) De spirito Sancto

Though not the earliest known Medieval female composer, Hildegard is certainly the best-known. Her music was originally written to be sung during services in her convent. In the 1920s, her music was revived and is now performed throughout the world.

 

03/05/25 Maddalena Casula (c. 1544-c.1590): Morir non può il mio cuore

Casuala was a lutenist patronized by Isabelle de Medici. Casuala published four volumes of her madrigals between 1566 and 1586. She's the earliest known published female composer.

 

03/06/25 Raffaella Aleotti (c. 1575-after 1620): Sacrae cantonies: Sancta et immaculata virginitas

Aleotti became a nun at age 14. Yet she composed both sacred and secular works. A collection of sacred music (Sacrae cantonies) was published in 1593.

 

03/07/25 Alba Iressina (c.1590-d after 1638): Vulnerasti cor meum

Iressina was abbess of a convent in Vicenza. She studied with Leone Leoni, a priest and composer. He included four of her works (with credit) in a collection published in 1622.

 

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4, 2024

 The #ClassicsaDay team has made Women's History Month the March theme since 2017. The challenge remains: post classical music videos from female composers on your social media channels. There are plenty of options when it comes to 21st- and 20th-century composers.

What continually surprises me is how much music is yet to be discovered from earlier centuries. And also how much of it was known at the time, but somehow fell into obscurity. Here are my discoveries for the fourth and final week of #WomensHistoryMonth. 

03/25/24 Alba Trissina (f. 1622): Vulnerasti cor meum

Trissina was a Carmelite nun who studied with Leone Leoni. Leoni published four of her works in 1622. They're all that survive of her music.

 

03/26/24 Mlle Bocquet (early 17th C.-after 1660): Sarabande in A minor

Her first name is unknown, but not her talent. This virtuoso lutenist wrote a series of works that expanded the possibilities of the instrument.

 

03/27/24 Antonia Bembo (c. 1640–1720): Se legge d'amore

Bembo was an Italian singer and composer who found a home at Versailles. She was a musician in the court of Louis XIV. Six volumes of her music are preserved in manuscript.

 

03/28/24 Rosa Giacinta Badalla (1660–1710): Pane angelico

Badalla's reputation rests on a single publication. Motetti a voce sola (1684, Venice) shows a composer at the top of her game. The works were most likely written for performance in her convent.

 

03/29/24 Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729): Sonata No. 2 in B-flat

De La Guerre was famed as a harpsichord virtuoso. She published several collections of sonatas and cantatas. She also composed two operas that were staged in the 1690s. 

 

Next Month:

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 3, 2024

 The #ClassicsaDay team has made Women's History Month the March theme since 2017. The challenge remains: post classical music videos from female composers on your social media channels. There are plenty of options when it comes to 21st- and 20th-century composers.

What continually surprises me is how much music is yet to be discovered from earlier centuries. And also how much of it was known at the time, but somehow fell into obscurity. Here are my discoveries for the third week of #WomensHistoryMonth. 

3/18/24 Chiara Margarita Cozzolani (1602–1678) Bone Jesu

Cozzola was a Benedictine nun who also composed for her convent. Four collections of her music were published during her lifetime, although almost half are now lost.

 

3/19/24 Claudia Francesca Rusca (1583​-​1676): Canzon Prima à4 'La Borromea,' Canzoni Francesi à4

Rusca was a nun at a convent in Milan. Her only collection of music was written for use inside convents. The Sacri concerti à 1–5 con salmi e canzoni francesi (Milan, 1630) existed only in manuscript.

 

3/20/24 Leonora Duarte (1610–1678): Sinfonia VII

Duarte was a talented composer and keyboardist from Antwerp. Her only surviving works are a collection of seven symphonies written around 1650.

 

3/21/24 Sulpitia Cesis (fl. 1619): Angelus ad Pastores

Cesis was a nun who spent most of her life in a convent. She was also a noted composer and lutenist. Her fame rests on a single collection of Motetti Spirituali, published in 1619.

 

3/22/24 Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677): O Maria (Sacri Musicali Affetti, Op. 5)

Strozzi's salons were well-known in Venice. The intelligentsia would gather to hear her perform (and sing) her compositions. Eight volumes of her vocal works were published during her lifetime.

 

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 2, 2024

 The #ClassicsaDay team has made Women's History Month the March theme since 2017. The challenge remains: post classical music videos from female composers on your social media channels. There are plenty of options when it comes to 21st- and 20th-century composers.

What continually surprises me is how much music is yet to be discovered from earlier centuries. And also how much of it was known at the time, but somehow fell into obscurity. Here are my discoveries for the first week of #WomensHistoryMonth. 

3/11/24 Caterina Assandra (1590-after 1618): O Dulcis Amor Jesu

Assandra was a Benedictine nun, as well as a composer and organist. She published at least two books of motets (only Op. 2 survives), as well as several other sacred works.

 

3/12/24 Francesca Caccini (1587–1640?): Chi desia

Francesca's father Giulio was one of the founders of opera. Francesca's sister Settimia was a successful singer and composer. Francesca's "La liberazione di Ruggerio" (1625) is the earliest known opera composed by a woman.

 

3/13/24 Settimia Caccini (1591–1638?): Due luci ridenti

Settima's father Giulio was one of the founders of opera. And her sister Francesca was a respected composer of opera as well. Although a prolific composer herself, only eight of Settima's works survive.

 

3/14/24 Claudia Sessa (c. 1570 – c. 1617/19): Occhi io vissi di voi

Sessa was a nun. She was also an instrumentalist, singer, and composer. Two of her sacred choral works were published in 1613. 

 

3/15/24 Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana (1590–1662): O magnum misterium

Vizzana was a nun in the convent of S. Christina, Bologna. And she was also a singer, organist, and composer. A collection of her choral music, Componimenti musicali de motetti concertati a l e più voci was published in 1623.

 

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 1 2024

 The #ClassicsaDay team has made Women's History Month the March theme since 2017. The challenge remains: post classical music videos from female composers on your social media channels. There are plenty of options when it comes to 21st- and 20th-century composers.

What continually surprises me is how much music is yet to be discovered from earlier centuries. And also how much of it was known at the time, but somehow fell into obscurity. Here are my discoveries for the first week of #WomensHistoryMonth. 

03/04/24 Kassia (c.810-867): Hymn of Kassiani the Nun

Kassia, also known as Kassiani wrote extensively on theology, and composed prolifically. Many of her hymns have become part of the Eastern Orthodox hymnody.

 

03/05/24 Herrad of Landsberg (c. 1130-1195): Creatrices

Herrad was an Alsatian abbess of Hohenburg Abbey. Her major work was the Hortus deliciarum, an illustrated encyclopedia of all knowledge known to 12th-century Europeans. It also included 20 songs, notated with neumes.

 

03/06/24 Maddalena Casulana (c.1540–c.1590): Madrigal VI

Casulana was a lutenist, singer, and composer. She was the first female composer to have an entire book of her music published. She would have three collections of madrigals published in her lifetime: in 1570, 1583, and in 1586.

 

03/07/24 Alba Tressina (fl. 1590): Anima mea liquefacta est

Tressina was a Carmelite nun in Vecnza. Leone Leoni was the maestro di cappella at eh Vicenz Cathedral. Thanks to him, four of Tressina's motets have been preserved.

 

03/08/24 Vittoria Aleotti (c.1575–after 1620): Lasso quand’io credei d’esser felice

Vittoria was one of two gifted female composers in the same family. Vittoria published a single set of madrigals in 1593. Her younger sister Raffaella also published a collection of music the same year.

 

#ClassicaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 5, 2023

March is Women's History Month. And for Classics a Day, it's another opportunity to focus on classical music composed by women. And not just composers in the 21st Century. 

Every year when we do this theme, I discover more female composers whose music I have never heard before. But it's music that deserves to be heard -- and more than once.

Here are my posts for the fifth and final week of Women's History Month, 2023.

03/28/22 Emilie Mayer (1812–1883) - String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14

Mayer was the Associate Director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Her composing career took off after a concert of her works in 1850. Mayer wrote seven string quartets. Her G minor quartet was published in 1858.

03/29/22 Louise Farrenc (1804–1875) - Cello Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 46

Farrenc was well-known as a pianist and composer. Most of her works were for chamber ensembles. Her cello sonata was published in 1858, and most likely premiered with Farrenc at the piano.

03/30/22 Marianne von Martinez (1744-1812) - Sonata for Piano in E major

Martinez was well-known in 18th Century Vienna, both as a pianist and composer. She often gave command performances for Empress Maria Theresa.

03/31/22 Sophia Giustina Dussek (1775 – ca. 1831) - Harp Sonata in C minor, Op. 3, No. 3

Sophia Guistina was married to Jan Ladislav Dussek. She was a pianist, harpist, and composer. Her most popular works were her sonatas for harp.

Next month:

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4, 2023

March is Women's History Month. And for Classics a Day, it's another opportunity to focus on classical music composed by women. And not just composers in the 21st Century. 

Every year when we do this theme, I discover more female composers whose music I have never heard before. But it's music that deserves to be heard -- and more than once.

Here are my posts for the fourth week of Women's History Month, 2023.

03/20/23 Julie Pinel: Chantez, dansez jeunes bergères

Little is known about this French composer and harpsichordist. She did publish a collection of 31 songs in 1737, Nouveau receuil d'airs sérioux et à boire.

03/21/23 Sophia Maria Westenholz: Sonata for Piano Four Hands, Op. 3

Westenholz was an accomplished singer and pianist, as well as a composer. Her husband was Kapellmeister to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. When he died in 1789, she was named Kapellmeisterin and continued to serve the court as a perfomer composer, and teacher.

03/22/23 Beatritz de Dia (fl. c. 1175-c.1212): Estat ai en greu cossirier

Beatritz was a trobairitz (a female troubadour). She composed and performed poems and songs for courtly entertainment. Unlike troubadours, most trobairtiz were of noble birth -- like the Comtessa de Dia.

03/23/23 Francesca Caccini (1587 - after 1641): Antri gelati

Caccini was a singer, lutenist, poet, and composer. She's credited as the first woman to write a complete opera. "La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola di Alcina" (1625) was a smash hit.

03/24/23 Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677): Che si può fare Op. 8

Strozzi was both a singer and composer. She holds the distinction of having the most secular music in print of any composer of the era -- male or female.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 3, 2023

March is Women's History Month. And for Classics a Day, it's another opportunity to focus on classical music composed by women. And not just composers in the 21st Century. 

Every year when we do this theme, I discover more female composers whose music I have never heard before. But it's music that deserves to be heard -- and more than once. 

Here are my posts for the third week of Women's History Month, 2023.

03/13/23 Marguerite Balutet: 4 Petites pièces en clef de sol

Balutet began her career as a concert pianist, but soon tranisitioned into teaching. She founded the Beethoven School in 1883 as a training college for future piano teachers. Innovative for the time was the issuance of certification after students completed the rigourous course work.

03/14/23 Caterina Assandra: Duo Seraphim

Assandra was a Benedictine nun active in the early 1600s. She served her convent as an organist and published several collections of music. The Duo Seraphim was written for performance within the convent.

3/15/23 Helena Tulve: Anstatica

Tulve is an Estonian composer. She's served as composer-in-residence for the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, International Pärnu Music Festival Järvi Academy, and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

03/16/23 Henriette Renié: Légende for Harp

Renié was a French harpist and composer. She's credited with standardizing performance practices for the instrument. Légende was written in 1901.

03/17/23 Mlle Duval (1718-1775): Passacaille from Les Génies, ou Les caractères de l’Amour

She was only the second female composer to have an opera performed at the Paris Opera. Duval was also a dancer and a harpsichordist. This opera premiered in 1736 and ran for 9 performances. She accompanied and directed from the harpsichord.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth, Week 1 2023

March is Women's History Month. And for Classics a Day, it's another opportunity to focus on classical music composed by women. And not just composers in the 21st Century. 

Every year when we do this theme, I discover more female composers whose music I have never heard before. But it's music that deserves to be heard -- and more than once. 

Here are my posts for the first week of Women's History Month, 2023.

03/01/23 Kassia (c.810-867): Gnomai

Kassia is the earliest known female composer. About 50 of her hymns have survived to the present day -- some are still used by the Greek Orthodox Church.

03/02/23 Laura Netzel: Cello Sonata, Op. 66

This Swedish composer/pianist used an alias to get her music published. This Cello Sonata, from 1899, for example, is credited to "N. Lago."

03/03/23 Dora Pejačević: Piano Trio in C, Op. 29

This Croatian composer is considered one of the most important in her country. Most of her works are chamber music, with a large representation of solo vocal music.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth 2022 Week 5

The Classics a Day team chose Women's History Month as the theme for March. Actually, it's been the March theme for the past five years. And there are still many composers to explore.

As always, I try to shore works I haven't posted before. And as always for this month, I'm posting works by composers I've just discovered (both past and present). Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the fifth and final week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/28/22 Emilie Mayer (1812–1883) - String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14

Mayer was the Associate Director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Her composing career took off after a concert of her works in 1850. Mayer wrote seven string quartets. Her G minor quartet was publisedin 1858.

03/29/22 Louise Farrenc (1804–1875) - Cello Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 46

Farrenc was well-known as a pianist and composer. Most of her works were for chamber ensembles. Her cello sonata was published in 1858, and most likely premiered with Farrenc at the piano.

03/30/22 Marianne von Martinez (1744-1812) - Sonata for Piano in E major

Martinez was well-known in 18th Century Vienna, both as a pianist and composer. She often gave command performanes for Empress Maria Theresa.

03/31/22 Sophia Giustina Dussek (1775 – ca. 1831) - Harp Sonata in C minor, Op. 3, No. 3

Sophia Guistina was married to Jan Ladislav Dussek. She was a pianist, harpist, and composer. Her most popular works were her sonatas for harp.

Next Month:

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4 2022

The Classics a Day team chose Women's History Month as the theme for March. Actually, it's been the March theme for the past five years. And there are still many composers to explore.

As always, I try to shore works I haven't posted before. And as always for this month, I'm posting works by composers I've just discovered (both past and present). Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the fourth week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/21/22 Ina Boyle (1889-1967) - The Magic Harp

Circumstances forced Boyle to remain home-bound for most of her life. Nevertheless, she composed every day and continually corresponded with conductors and orchestras for performances. This orchestral rhapsody is one of the few works published during her lifetime.

03/22/22/ Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923) - Symphony in F sharp minor, Op. 41

This work was the first modern symphony by a Croatian composer. Pejacevic is considered not just an important female composer in Croatia, but one ot he country's most important composers, full stop.

08/23/22 Maddalena Casulana (c.1540–c.1590) - O notte o ciel o mar

Casulana holds the distinction of being the first femal to have an entire book of her music published (in western classical music history). In fact, she published two collections of her music.

03/24/22 Julie Pinel (fl.1710-1737) - Printemps

Not much is known about this French composer and harpsicordist. She was part of the Pinel family of court musicians, and published one collection of songs in 1737.

03/25/22 Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska (1834–1861) - L'Espérance

This Polish composer studied at the Warsaw Institute of Music in 1875. She wrote 35 compositions, all of them for solo piano.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 3, 2022

The Classics a Day team chose Women's History Month as the theme for March. Actually, it's been the March theme for the past five years. And there are still many composers to explore.

As always, I try to shore works I haven't posted before. And as always for this month, I'm posting works by composers I've just discovered (both past and present). Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the third week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/14/22 Sophie Menter (1846-1918) - Consolation, Op. 10

Menter holds the distinction of being the only female piano student of Franz Liszt.One critic described her playing "blend of virtuosity and elegance; fiery temperament; a masculine (!) weight on the keys..."

03/15/22 Victoria Poleva - Summer Music

Ukrainian composer Poleva wrote this chamber cantata in 2008. The text is by J. Brodsky, and is composed for children's choir, solo violin, and strings.

03/16/22 Mel Bonis (1859-1937) - Cello Sonata, Op. 67

Bonis studied with Cesar Franck, She wrote over 300 works, mostly chamber pieces, mélodies, and solo piano works. Her cello sonata dates from 1905.

03/17/22 Tera de Marez Oyens (1932-1996) - Contrafactus for string quartet

Dutch composer Oyens wrote over 200 works. This 1982 work also exists in another form. Oyens added a flute part to it, creating the Leaia Quintet.

03/18/22 Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) - Symphony for Double String Orchestra

Maconchy studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and came to public notice with her 1930 piano concerto. Her 1953 symphony demonstrates her idea that "the best music is an impassioned argument."

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 2, 2022

The Classics a Day team chose Women's History Month as the theme for March. Actually, it's been the March theme for the past five years. And there are still many composers to explore.

As always, I try to shore works I haven't posted before. And as always for this month, I'm posting works by composers I've just discovered (both past and present). Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the second week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/07/22 Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) - Piano Concerto

Tailleferre composed continuously throughout her life, up to her death at age 91. Her piano concerto dates from 1924, when she was part of Les Six.

03/08/22 Maria Teresa Prieto - Symphony No. 2

Spanish composer Prieto emigrated to Mexico during the Spanish Civil War. There she studied with Carlos Chavez. After the war, she remained in Mexico, composing works inspired by folk traditions.

03/09/22 Signe Lund (1868–1950) - Legende, from 34 Morceaux, Op. 16

Lunde was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Most of her compositions are for solo piano, including her 4 Morceaux, published in 1896.

03/10/22 Laura Netzel (1839-1927) Romance in A major for Violin and Piano. Op. 40

Born in Finland, Netzel spent most of her life in Sweden. Among her composition teachers was Charles-Marie Widor. Her Op. 40 Romance was published in 1896 with her pseudonym "N. Lago."

03/11/22 Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen (1745–1818) - Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major

Sirmen was more than a brilliant violinist -- she was certified. After studying with Tartini, this Venice-born composer she received a maestro license and was allowed to perform and tour freely outside the city-state.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 1, 2022

The Classics a Day team chose Women's History Month as the theme for March. Actually, it's been the March theme for the past five years. And there are still many composers to explore.

As always, I try to shore works I haven't posted before. And as always for this month, I'm posting works by composers I've just discovered (both past and present). Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the first week of #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/01/22 Kassia (c.810-867) - O Phariseos

Who's the earliest known female composer? It's not Hildegard von Bingen. Kassia checks in two centuries before Hilde's birth. And her music is still performed in Eastern Orthodox churches to this day.

03/02/22 Anna Bon - Flute Sonata Op. 1, No. 1 in C major

Bon published her Opus 1 set of flute sonatas at age 18 in 1756. She would publish two other collections of music before disappearing from history in 1769.

03/03/22 Maria Rosa Coccia (1759-1833) - Hic vir despiciens mundum

Coccia was the only woman to enter the Accademia di Santa Cecelia (at last in the 18th C.). This work was her final exam (which she passed) at age 16.

03/04/22 Maria Teresa Agnesi - La Sofonsiba, overture

Agnesi enjoyed the patronage of Maria Theresa, the Holy Roman Empress. She was an accomplished keyboardist, and many of her surviving works are for the harpsichord. This overture is from one of her six known operas.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 5

The #ClassicsaDay team often uses Women's History Month as their theme for March. And for good reason. Classical audiences might be aware that there are contemporary female composers. But perhaps not so aware (with the exception of Hildegard von Bingen) of how many women composed music throughout the centuries.

For March 2021, I decided to cycle through the eras. Each week features a woman from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, plus one from either the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. And this is just a sampling. Here are my picks for the final week of #ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/29/21 Abbie Betinis - Dormi, Jesu

Betinis is currently the Composer-in-Residence for The Schubert Club in St. Paul, MN. She specializes in choral and chamber works, sold through her own publishing house.

03/30/21 Mon Schjelderup (1870-1934) - Vuggevise & Sang uden Ord, Opus 13

Norwegian composer Schjelderup began her career at 14 and studied extensively with Jules Massenet.

03/31/21 Judith Shatin (1949 - ) Adonai Ro'i

Shatin composed this setting of Psalm 23 (in Hebrew) in 1995. She wrote it in response to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and has become one of her most-performed works.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 4

The #ClassicsaDay team often uses Women's History Month as their theme for March. And for good reason. Classical audiences might be aware that there are contemporary female composers. But perhaps not so aware (with the exception of Hildegard von Bingen), of how many women composed music throughout the centuries.

For March 2021, I decided to cycle through the eras. Each week features a woman from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, plus one from either the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. And this is just a sampling. Here are my picks for the fourth week of #ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/22/21 Leonora Duarte (1610–1678) Sinfonia No. 2

The seven sinfonias of Duarte are the earliest known works for viola by a female composer. During her lifetime she was well-respected as a composer and musician.

03/23/21 Sophia Giustina Corri Dussek (1775 – ca. 1831) - Harp Sonata in C minor, Op. 2 No. 3

Sophia was married to famed composer and pianist Jan Ladislav Dussek. She was a harpist, and her Opus 2 sonatas for the instrument were best sellers in 1790s London and Paris, going through at least three editions.

03/24/21 Adrienne Albert (1941 -) Cuban Stories for Flute, Bass Clarinet, Viola and Piano

Albert began her career as a mezzo-soprano, working with Stravinsky and Bernstein. She transitioned to conducting in the 1980s, then full-time composing in the 1990s

03/25/21 Hedwige Chrétien (1859-1944)- 6 petits préludes récréatifs

This French composer wrote over 150 works. Though many were for piano, Chrétien's catalog includes chamber pieces, orchestral works, and two operas.

03/26/21 Larysa Kuzmenko (1956 - ) Behold the Night, for Choir and orchestra

This Canadian composer has garnered an impressive array of awards and commissions during her career. This work was premiered in 2011.

#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Week 3

The #ClassicsaDay team often uses Women's History Month as their theme for March. And for good reason. Classical audiences might be aware that there are contemporary female composers. But perhaps not so aware (with the exception of Hildegard von Bingen), of how many women composed music throughout the centuries.

For March 2021, I decided to cycle through the eras. Each week features a woman from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, plus one from either the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. And this is just a sampling. Here are my picks for the third week of #ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/15/21 Francesca Caccini (1587–1640?) - Ballo

This music is from " La liberazione di Ruggiero," the oldest surviving opera by a woman composer. Caccini's comic opera was first performed in 1625.

03/16/21 Beatirz de Dia (fl.c.1175-c.1212) - Ab joy et ab joven m'apais

The Comtessa de Dia was a trobairitz. These female troubadours wrote poetry and music for the Occitan courts. Beatriz was one of the more famous, though only five of her compositions survive.

03/17/21 Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884) - Te Deum Laudamus in A

Smith was an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music. She wrote symphonies, chamber works, and extensively for choral groups.

Marguerite Balutet (1853-1928) - Prelude and Bouree

Balutet was a pianist who established an important piano academy in the 1890s. It was one of the first to have a rigorous curriculum in all aspects of music and a juried exam for certification.

03/19/21 Helen Grime (1981 - ) Percussion Concerto

Scottish composer Grime wrote her concerto in 2019. The solo percussionist plays a battery of 13 instruments, ranging from marimba to brake drums.