#galinaustvolskaya — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #galinaustvolskaya, aggregated by home.social.
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#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#PianoSonata No.1 (1947)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#PianoSonata No.1 (1947)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#PianoSonata No.1 (1947)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#PianoSonata No.1 (1947)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#PianoSonata No.1 (1947)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Symphony No. 2 "True and Eternal Bliss" (1979) [
#RadioPhilharmonicOrchestra
#ReinbertDeLeeuw#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Symphony No. 2 "True and Eternal Bliss" (1979) [
#RadioPhilharmonicOrchestra
#ReinbertDeLeeuw#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Symphony No. 2 "True and Eternal Bliss" (1979) [
#RadioPhilharmonicOrchestra
#ReinbertDeLeeuw#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Symphony No. 2 "True and Eternal Bliss" (1979) [
#RadioPhilharmonicOrchestra
#ReinbertDeLeeuw#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Symphony No. 2 "True and Eternal Bliss" (1979) [
#RadioPhilharmonicOrchestra
#ReinbertDeLeeuw#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
Twelve Preludes for piano (1953)
#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
#ElisavetBlumina #Piano
#JürgenSpitschka #Percussion#StuttgarterKammerorchester
#ThomasSanderling#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
#ElisavetBlumina #Piano
#JürgenSpitschka #Percussion#StuttgarterKammerorchester
#ThomasSanderling#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
#ElisavetBlumina #Piano
#JürgenSpitschka #Percussion#StuttgarterKammerorchester
#ThomasSanderling#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
#ElisavetBlumina #Piano
#JürgenSpitschka #Percussion#StuttgarterKammerorchester
#ThomasSanderling#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
#GalinaUstvolskaya 1919 - 2006
#Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
#ElisavetBlumina #Piano
#JürgenSpitschka #Percussion#StuttgarterKammerorchester
#ThomasSanderling#musik #music #musique #musica #Ustvolskaya #modernistmusic
#womencomposers -
"Ustvolskaya: Complete Piano Music" on YouTube https://youtu.be/ssHrxb_A0S0
@classicalmusic
@womencomposers
@ethelsmyth
@sarahfritzwritr
@mimoblog
@archivfraumusik
#ClassicalMusic
#PianoMusic
#WomenComposers
#IvanSokolov
#GalinaUstvolskaya -
Early work of Galina Ustvolskaya in Concertgebouw: no ‘lady with the hammer’
Galina Ustvolskaya (c) Leendert Jansen
On Saturday 12 January Vasily Petrenko conducts the Dutch Radio Philharnonic Orchestra in three works by Brahms, Shostakovich and Ustvolskaya as part of the NTRZaterdagMatinee series in Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Despite their very different backgrounds, there are some similarities. The two Russian composers suffered under the repressive regime of the communists, the German Brahms was accused of writing old-fashioned music that lacked Beethoven’s ‘social-forming’ power.
‘Lady with the hammer’
Galina Ustvolskaya was dubbed ‘the lady with the hammer’ because of her relentless style, but she did not always compose drastic music that excels in extremes. Under the wings of Dmitri Shostakovich she first trod more traditional paths as a composer. She destroyed most of her early works, but spared the symphonic poem The Dream of Stepan Razin for baritone and orchestra that will get a rare performance in NTRZaterdagMatinee.
Ustvolskaya was born in Petrograd in 1919, two years after the Russian Revolution. In the same year Dmitri Shostakovich started studying piano and composition there. Ustvolskaya would remain in the city all her life, which was renamed Leningrad in 1924 in memory of the hero of the revolution and only regained its original name St. Petersburg in 1992.
Just like Shostakovich, she was confronted with an increasingly strict and repressive Soviet regime. Nevertheless – or precisely because of this – Ustvolskaya developed into one of the most elusive and idiosyncratic composers of our time. She studied composition at the Leningrad Conservatoire, being the only female student admitted to Shostakovich’s composition class in 1939.
He soon recognised her exceptional qualities and predicted her ‘worldwide recognition of everyone who is concerned with truthfulness in music’. Bravely he defended her music in the Composers’ Union, and it is rumoured he even proposed marriage to her. He asked her to review his own scores and incorporated one of her themes in his Fifth String Quartet and the Michelangelo Suite.
‘Formalism’
Shostakovich courteously wrote to her: ‘You are not influenced by me, it is rather the other way round.’ It is all the more distressing to read how fiercely Ustvolskaya later rejected her mentor and former friend. In a letter to her publishers she wrote: ‘Then, just like now, I resolutely rejected his music. (….) One thing is certain: a seemingly eminent figure like Shostakovich is not at all eminent to me; on the contrary, he burdened my life and killed my best feelings.’
In any case, just like Shostakovich, Ustvolskaya was accused of writing ‘formalist’ music. In order to earn a living she composed film scores and ‘music for the people’. This resulted in a number of works in the prescribed ‘socialist-realist’ style, which she later withdrew. An exception is The Dream of Stepan Razin, which she composed in 1949 on a text from Russian folk poetry. This is an ode to the Cossack leader Stenka Razin (1630-1671) who rebelled against the Russian landed gentry that exploited and repressed the common people.
‘Truly national art’
This early work is full of lyrical melodies, heroic fanfares and rousing Cossack rhythms. To top it off there’s a soaring solo part sung by a baritone, who gives a lively description of how Stepan Razin envisions his impending execution. The apparatchiks were so pleased that the piece was chosen for the opening of the new season of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in 1949.
Tichon Chrennikov, secretary of the Composers’ Union, even recommended The Dream of Stepan Razin to other composers, as ‘an ideal example of a truly national art’. The composition was even nominated for a Stalin Prize. The hyper-romantic music is a far cry from the radicalism of Ustvolskaya’s later compositions. Thus it fits well with Brahms’s First Symphony and Shostakovich’s Second Violin Concerto that are also on the programme. The concert is broadcast live on Radio4.
NTR ZaterdagMatinee, 12 January 2 pm Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Radio Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasili Petrenko; Alina Ibragimova, violin; Anatoli Sivko, baritone
Ustvolskaya (1919-2006): The Dream of Stepan Razin (1949)
Shostakovich (1906-1975): Violin concert no. 2 in c-sharp minor op.129 (1967)
Brahms (1833-1897): Symphony no. 1 in c minor op.68 (1876)#DmitriShostakovich #GalinaUstvolskaya #JohannesBrahms #NTRZaterdagmatinee #RadioFilharmonischOrkest #TheDreamOfStepanRazin #VasilyPetrenko
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Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
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Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
-
Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
-
Between diapers & dishes – the (in)visibility of the female composer
Walkyrien (c) Emil Doepler, via Wikipedia Media
Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. No chance to miss today is women’s day. The media are brimming with articles about the unequal pay for women and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. – In politics, the business world, universities and the arts.
The most conservative is perhaps the classical music world, where the female composer still has to fend for her right to exist. Even in 2018 she still has to cram her creative work in between domestic tasks, it seems. – Will a male composer ever be asked how he combines his work ‘with the children’? Despite tiny steps in the right direction, his female colleague still balances between diapers & dishes.
Perotinus & Leoninus
My own history began in a village in Limburg. I was not allowed to join the local brass band – simply because I was a girl. Later I started my own pop group. Though I wrote all the songs, invariably in interviews my male band members were asked all the questions. During my entire studies in musicology only two ladies were mentioned. Hildegard von Bingen was treated extensively, but after that it remained silent. In my my final year one song by Clara Schumann was analyzed.
During concerts I heard music from Perotinus & Leoninus, Bach and Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, Stravinsky and Bartók. Only in the world of new music I was sparsely treated to works by Galina Ustvolskaya and Sofia Gubaidulina, or Kaija Saariaho and Unsuk Chin. When I started working at Radio 4, I made thematic programs on countless subjects. But the moment I dedicated a series to female composers, I was deprecatingly dubbed ‘Her of the Women’.
Smyth ‘influenced’ by unborn Britten
Undaunted I tried to get work by female composers performed, but I stumbled on a wall of unwillingness and bias. The most poignant was my experience with the opera The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. Everyone I played a recording to was enthusiastic about the beautiful and powerful music. – Invariably followed by the comment that Smyth had been ‘strongly influenced’ by Peter Grimes of Benjamin Britten.
A hilarious argument: Britten wasn’t even born when Smyth composed her opera in 1906. Indeed, Peter Grimes did not appear until 1945, a year after her death. When I pointed this out, my interlocutors fell silent, baffled. But the penny did not drop and the opera remained unperformed. While a rediscovered second-class composition of a man is not seldom hailed ‘discovery of the century’.
Netherlands’ Men’s Days and Bosmans Prize
During the yearly Netherlands’ Music Days hardly any women’s compositions were performed, so I dubbed them the Netherlands’ Men’s Days; in 2010 the event died a silent death. Even the composition competition named after Henriëtte Bosmans was never won by a woman. After I had criticized this in a column, at least some female jurors were recruited. But it wasn’t until 2008, when an audience prize was established, that this finally went to a female composer. After 2011 also this competition ceased to exist.
When the Festival of Early Music Utrecht put Felix Mendelssohn in the context of his time, not one note from his sister Fanny was played. She was not only Felix’s source of inspiration and sounding board, but also a composer who was highly appreciated in her own time. Most probably she developed the ‘Song without Words’, which is invariably attributed to her brother. After yet another column of mine the all-male concept was somewhat released. Since then, sporadically music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard of Bingen or Isabella Leonarda was programmed.
Modern music world forms an exception
A positive exception is formed by the circuit of modern music, such as the Thursday Evening Concerts of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. The same goes for the Red Sofa series of De Doelen, the Oranjewoudfestival and Dag in de branding. In Gaudeamus Muziekweek, women’s work sounds regularly, although the competition itself is still dominated by men.
The coming edition of Classical Encounters in The Hague only has male works in store for us, even thought the programmer is a woman. Muziekgebouw Eindhoven features two ladies in its new season; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra one; the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra none. In the upcoming Opera Forward Festival, only two female composers will be represented.
Bright spots
It is sad that even in the 21st century we have to fight for the music of women composers. Nevertheless, there have been some bright spots recently, thanks in part to the social media. Databases with female composers from all ages can be updated online and this information is shared quickly and easily. The #MeToo discussion also contributes to a greater awareness of the subordination of women.
In terms of policy, some steps have been made as well. Mayke Nas succeeded Willem Jeths as Composer Laureate in 2016. A year later, Kate Moore was the first woman ever to win the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prize. The BBC initiated the project Celebrating Women Composers and the new February Festival gave voice to Fanny Mendelsohn and Clara Schumann. From season 2018-19 onwards, the Concertgebouw and NTRZaterdagMatinee will pay structural attention to composing ladies. Its counterpart AVROTROSVrijdagconcert also regularly features music by women composers.
Small successes that ‘Her of the Women’ will continue to fight for in the future.
Tonight Silbersee will perform music by Seung-Won Oh in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, I will speak to her during the introduction at 7.15 pm.
Please support independent music jounalism. Any amount is welcome. Thanks!
#ClaraSchumann #EthelSmyth #FannyMendelssohn #GalinaUstvolskaya #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #PeterGrimes #SofiaGubaidulina #TheWreckers #UnsukChin #WomenSDay
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Celestial versus abysmal sounds: Hildegard von Bingen meets Galina Ustvolskaya
In spite of fierce galactic gales, a substantial audience had found its way to the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ on Thursday 23 February. They had good reason to defy the weather warning – code orange – because the Flemish instrumental ensembles Het Collectief and vocal choir Psallentes presented a double bill of Hildegard von Bingen and Galina Ustvolskaya.
Though to my knowledge the music of the medieval nun and the quirky 20th century Russian composer was never before combined, this is less unlikely than it may seem. Both composed from a deeply felt inner necessity and transcended the limits of convention. Both were deeply inspired by their religion, the difference being that Von Bingen composed for the liturgy of her own nunnery, while Ustvolskaya cherished a rather more personal relation to God.
Swirling melodies versus fierce hammering
Von Bingen’s swirling melodies far outreach the rather more introverted Gregorian chant of her day. In the face of Ustvolskaya’s furious hammerings even the pained outcries of her teacher Shostakovich pale.
As pianist Thomas Dieltjens of Het Collectief and Hendrik Vanden Abeele, leader of Psallentes pointed out during our pre-concert talk: both ladies only accepted accountability to themselves. However different their musical language may be, both were radical in their views, each in her own, existentialist way.
Hendrik Vanden Abeele – Thea Derks – Thomas Dieltjens, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ 23 February
Dialogue rather than clash
Rather than making Von Bingen’s heavenly singing clash with Ustvolskaya’s relentless gruntings, Dieltjens and Vanden Abeele sought to establish a dialogue. Ustvolskaya may be called ‘the lady with the hammer’ because of her often extremely loud dynamics, yet there are moments of utter quietude, too. Suddenly the markings drop to quadruple, fivefold or even stronger pianissimo, and ethereal lines rise up to heaven from this stillness.
Dieltjens and Vanden Abeele hunted out these moments in Ustvolskaya’s Trio, Grand Duet, Composition nr. 1 and Piano Sonata 6, and used them to spark off nine chants from Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum. In this first ever mystery play a righteous soul fights off the temptations of the devil with the help of the virtues. The – spoken – part of the devil was not included, since Vanden Abeele considered Ustvolskaya’s unsettling sounds could easily represent his role.
Tapestry of celestial and abysmal sounds
The ‘devil’ takes the stage in the form of Thomas Dieltjens, furiously banging away on his concert grand in Piano Sonata 6. After five minutes the loud and dissonant clusters abruptly give way to a soft and wistful melody, and offstage the women’s voices start singing ‘O antiqui’. It’s a striking moment of sheer beauty, causing goose bumps all over.
In some 80 minutes the two ensembles weave a tapestry of celestial and abysmal sounds, in which the wonderfully pure voices of the choir cleverly intermingle with the instruments.
Psallentes
Sometimes the ensembles echo or imitate each other’s parts, the choir even presenting some modern, dissonant polyphony. At other times the instrumentalists generate sensitive, improvised murmurings to soften a harsh transition. Thus the sound worlds of Von Bingen and Ustvolskaya seem to merge naturally.
New age type of improvisation
Psallentes is an amazing choir, with perfect pitch, homogeneity and concentration. The singers are counterbalanced by the fine musicians of Het Collectief, who defend Ustvolskaya’s music with admirable gusto. Yet I’m in two minds about the result, for in the long run the returning improvisations take on an aspect of new age, making my attention waver.
And however ingeniously Ustvolskaya’s music is cut up and interspersed with Von Bingen’s, gradually I’m numbed and start longing to hear at least one integral piece of hers.
Psallentes and Het Collectief can’t be praised enough for bringing the music of Von Bingen and Ustvolskaya together, a daring and visionary experiment. Still, I’d be very much interested in a concert where they are simply presented next to each other. Both may be the stronger for it.
I was interviewed for NPORadio1 on this concert.
#GalinaUstvolskaya #HendrikVandenAbeele #HetCollectief #HildegardVonBingen #Psallentes #ThomasDieltjens
