Seated in the audience during the rehearsal that day was Eleanor Roosevelt. The First Lady was so impressed by the music that she cancelled her previous engagements in order to attend the concert. She even included the story in her newspaper column of Nov. 14. Price then received a commission from Sir John Barbirolli, and the Suite of Negro Dances was subsequently performed by the Chicago Symphony on a televised concert. She wrote songs for voice, as well as piano and two violin concertos. Sadly, only a very small portion of her piano pieces have been recorded.
Another cluster of famous women composers came to maturity in the early 1900s; among them were the British Rebecca Clarke , (1886-1979) and Dame Ethel Smyth; the French Germaine Tailleferre, and Nadia Boulanger. The latter, of course, was also perhaps the pre-eminent teacher of composition during the 20th century. During her long career, every composer of importance studied with her, including her younger sister, Lili, who died tragically young.
In the late 1900s, we have another abundance of successful women composers: Joan Tower, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ellen Taafe Zwilich, Libby Larsen, and Thea Musgrave, among many other equals. In 1970, Pauline Oliveros wrote And Don't Call Them 'Lady' Composers. This wonderful article is available at a delightful site, No Boys Allowed. Meant to encourage young women to avail themselves of all areas of art and technology, I don't think they'd protest if a gentleman or two wandered over to learn a few things.
Critic's Choice: Our critic Albert Petrak says: "A Feather on the Breath of God," music of Hildegard von Bingen, was the first recorded example of the lady's music, and the one which created an almost instant response from the public. On Hyperion 66039, sung by the Gothic Voices under the direction of Christopher Page, it was the means of introducing this music to a lot of people, unaware of the ancient tradition of Gregorian Chant, who found it was "restful and soothing."
If you have a comment, either on this article, or about classical music in general, I hope you will tell us about it by writing a note in the discussion area. If you prefer not to make it public, you can send me a private e-mail. Thanks! And please mark St. Patrick's Day - Mar. 17 - to come back for our tribute to the ladies who wield a big stick - the conductors. But, of course, you don't have to stay away that long!
