Euan Kemp, conductor
Louise Farrenc and Amy Beach represent two female pianist composers who were pioneers of gender equality in orchestral composition.
Amy Beach, frequently cited to be the first successful American female composer of large-scale works, composed Maria Stuart: Scena and Aria for Alto and Orchestra (1892) just two years before the gargantuan ‘Gaelic Symphony’, arguably the first symphony of importance written by any American composer. Premiered by the Symphony Society of New York and their first performance of music by a woman, Maria Stuart is a setting of a dramatic monologue (‘Eilende Wolken’) from Schiller's play Mary Stuart, portraying the imprisoned Scottish Queen immediately prior to execution. This performance marks its European premiere.
Louise Farrenc faced comparable difficulties getting her symphonic music performed in her lifetime. A female pianist and educator forging inroads into a male-dominated orchestral world in a France that favoured opera over the Germanic symphonic form, the lack of established orchestras often forced composers to form ensembles at their own expense. It was a challenge to perform any orchestral work unless picked up by the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, which thankfully this brooding G Minor Symphony was. Farrenc wrote three symphonies, the third arguably her finest.