THE
YEAR of the WOMAN
’S 2019–20 SEASON
THE BSO
by Janet E. Bedell
ON AUGUST 18, 1920, after decades of struggle, the 19 th Amendment, granting women in the U.S. the right to vote,
was ratified. Today, that milestone has led to women taking their places in fields never open to them before.
Women serve as governors of our states, in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and on the Supreme Court.
They are military commanders, astronauts, surgeons and leaders in all the sciences.
S
trides have been made for women in classical
music, notably in two professions long barred
to them: conducting and composing. Calling
the BSO’s 2019 –20 season “The Year of the
Woman,” Marin Alsop says, “The BSO will
shine a light on the important contributions
by women to music and society at large. I have
long been an advocate for gender equality in the
concert hall, and this anniversary offers us a unique opportunity
to examine that question of equity in more depth while featur-
ing many of classical music’s leading talents. In addition to this
lineup of outstanding women artists, we will present a series of
conversations with prominent American women—from scientists
to curators, political leaders to philanthropists.”
On the 2019–20 season roster will be leading women soloists
and fast-rising women conductors, as well as women composers of
the past and today.
THE CREATORS
Traditionally, the barriers against women becoming composers
have loomed very high. The older sister of the far more famous
Felix, Fanny Mendelssohn was as gifted as her sibling. Indeed,
Carl Friedrich Zelter, who taught them both initially
thought Fanny possessed the superior talent.
Writing to his friend, the poet Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, he described her
as “really something special,” adding
“She plays [the piano] like a man.” But
Fanny’s father, Abraham Mendels-
sohn, felt a composing career was not
appropriate for her. “Music will perhaps
become Felix’s profession, while for
you it can and must be only an orna-
ment.” Her brother agreed with this,
although he did publish several of
Fanny’s songs under his own
name. Comments Maestra
Alsop, “I thought it would
be fun to hear their music
side-by-side.” (concerts in
FAN NY M EN DELS SOH N
March 2020)
8
OV E R T U R E / BSOmusic.org
Born in 1887, Florence Price faced a
wall twice as high, for she was also African
American. Graduating from New
England Conservatory with honors
before her 20 th birthday, she devoted
herself to teaching and composing, and
in 1933, her Symphony in E Minor was
played by the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra—the first composition
by an African American woman
ever to be played by a major
U.S. orchestra. “Her compo-
sitions have finally been
FLO R EN C E PRIC E
catalogued and edited,
making it easier to discover and perform her work,” says Alsop.
“So I hope her music gets the exposure it deserves.” Her tone poem
The Oak “is a lush, atmospheric piece.” (January 2020)
Recent decades have finally seen women taking a prominent
place in the compositional field. Three of the Pulitzer Prizes for
Music since 2013 have been awarded to women composers—Julia
Wolfe, Du Yun and Ellen Reid—and two women have now
been commissioned to write operas for the Metropolitan Opera.
Commenting on this seemingly sudden explosion of talent, “I do
not think there is anything random about this emergence of women
composers,” says Marin Alsop. “Without opportunities for their
music to be performed, what could they do? For composers and
conductors, opportunities are the critical component.”
Three of this season’s women composers have been commissioned
to write new works for the BSO: Lera Auerbach, Anna Clyne and
Reena Esmail. “My tenure at the Vienna State Radio Orchestra will
begin this October with the new piece by Lera Auerbach, provid-
ing an opportunity for my three beloved orchestras—the Vienna
State Radio, São Paulo and Baltimore—to work together to bring
a new work to life,” says Alsop. Of Russian birth but now based
in Germany, Auerbach is a remarkable composer and a virtuoso
pianist who brings a Russian grandeur and intensity to her large-scale
orchestral music, which has won many prestigious prizes through-
out Europe (November 2019). Baltimore audiences have already
grown to love the vibrantly expressive music of British composer
Anna Clyne, ranging from her tender memorial to her mother, In
Her Arms, to her salute to Baltimore art, Five Paintings. “We are