#ClassicsaDay Womens History Month Week 2

The #ClassicsaDay team often uses Women's History Month as their theme for March. And for good reason. Classical audiences might be aware that there are contemporary female composers. But perhaps not so aware (with the exception of Hildegard von Bingen), of how many women composed music throughout the centuries.

For March 2021, I decided to cycle through the eras. Each week features a woman from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, plus one from either the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. And this is just a sampling. Here are my picks for the second week of #ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth.

03/08/21 Vittoria Aleotti (c.1575–after 1620) - Te amo mia vita

Aleotti showed great talent as a child, mastering the harpsichord, organ, and voice. At 14 she joined the San Vito, a convent famous for its music. All of her music was written for use within the convent.

03/09/21 Josepha Barbara von Auernhammer (1758-1820) - 6 Variations sur un theme Hongrois

Auernhammer played duets with Mozart and edited some of his sonatas. She was one of the first pianists to play Beethoven's 1st Piano concerto. Her own works are primarily for piano.

03/10/21 Clémence de Grandval (1828–1907) - Deux Pièces pour clarinette et piano

French composer de Grandval was perhaps more prominent than even her contemporaries realized. Because of her social position, she published over 60 works under a variety of pseudonyms.

03/11/21 Marie Hester Park (1760-1813) - Piano soanta in E flat major, op. 4, No. 2

Park was a British pianist and teacher. She corresponded with Haydn and even traded compositions with him. Her career spanned the transition from harpsichord to fortepiano. Park's Op. 4 sonatas were published in 1790.

03/12/21 Dora Pejačević (1885-1923): Erinnerung (Memories), Opus 24

Pejačević wrote over 100 works and defined Croatian classical music. Her symphony was the first (and perhaps the greatest) of her country in the 20th Century.