The following British women composers were celebrated in their time because of the quality of their work. Some will be recognizable to the average reader of today.
Frances Allitsen
Frances Allitsen (1849-1912) was a British composer whose real name was Mary Frances Bumpus. In her early life she went against her parents' wishes and decided on a career in music. A singer, she lost her voice at an early age and went on to compose many popular works.
Her output includes 2 overtures, Undine and Slavonique which were performed in London, and she also composed songs to the words of Longfellow, Shelley, Browning and Heine. One which has remained popular through the years,according to Women of Notes: 1,000 Women Composers Born Before 1900, is "The Lord is My Light."
Dora Bright
Dora Estrella Bright (Mrs. Windham Knachtbull ), was born in Sheffield in 1863 and died in Somerset in 1951. She was a student at the Royal Academy in London and while there began composing and was the first woman to win the Lucas Medal for Composition.She went on to teach piano, counterpoint and harmony at the Academy.
Her compositions are many and include 2 piano concertos; Fantasia, for piano and orchestra (the first work by a woman to be commissioned by the London Philharmonic Society); a piano quartet; string quartets; 3 operas and 12 ballets.
Her Piano Concerto No.1 was performed by Bright in Germany with Carl Reinecke on the podium, and later in London at the Crystal Palace. The Piano Concerto No 2 was performed at a Philharmonic concert in 1892.
Teresa Del Riego
Teresa Del Riego was born in London in 1877 and died there in 1968. She became a voice student of Marie Winslow and the celebrated Tosti, and was also a student of piano and composition at West Central College, London, where she won the Medal of Arts for piano.
Her compositions number over 250, and include Gloria, a song cycle;the songs"Herz mein Herz;" "L'Amour"; "The Madonna's Lullaby" and "A Garden in a Lovesome Thing." She also wrote works for voice and orchestra, cello and piano, solo voice, chorus and orchestra. 2 songs that have remained popular are "A Star Was His Candle" and "Homing."
Rebecca Clarke
Rebecca Clarke was born in Harrow, England, on August 27,1889 and died in New York City in 1979. She was a violinist and studied composition with Sir Charles Stanford. Clarke went to the United States in 1916 and formed the English Ensemble (which toured Europe), in 1928.
She composed a great many works, one of which,the Viola Sonata, won second prize in the Coolidge Competition, Berkshire Festival, 1919. Other works include a piano trio (1921), Chinese Puzzle, for violin and piano (1922), Rhapsody for cello and piano (1923) and Three Irish Country Songs for violin and piano. She was the wife of pianist Edward Steurmann.
These women contributed much to the world of classical music, both as performers and composers.
Source: Women of Notes:1,000 Women Composers Born Before 1900, Richards Rosen Press, Inc., NYC 1978
For further information on women in music please see:
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