NEW MUSIC CONSORT
Yet if we look beyond the official histories, as advocacy groups such as American Women Composers (AWC) have, we see that a surprisingly large number of women have made genuine (albeit minor) contributions. Among the notables are Fanny Mendelssohn (sister of Felix) and Clara Schumann (wife of Robert), both of whom, in accordance with Victorian conventions, composed in the shadow of a man. And there must have been more women in earlier ages like the medieval abbess and mystic Hildegarde, whose prodigious output is just being rediscovered (local organist and scholar Frank Ferko is one champion).
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In this century women composers have become enfranchised and are less and less often ignored by the critical and musicological establishments. In the assertive and inventive works of Ruth Crawford Seeger or Pauline Oliveros one can detect sensibilities more attuned, perhaps, to women’s emotional and intellectual experiences. These pioneers have paved the road for younger women such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Shulamit Ran, both Pulitzer Prize recipients, who in turn are opening territory for the next generation. A sampler of recent works by women composers under 40 was the first of two programs recently offered by the well-regarded, New York-based New Music Consort in its Ravinia debut. (The second was a potpourri of Pulitzer-winning compositions.) Preceding this program was a lecture recital organized by the AWC’s midwest chapter, “Women Composers: An Historical Perspective,” with Tania Leon introducing each composer’s work.
The most memorable work of the evening turned out to be Tania Leon’s A la Par. In her introduction, the Cuban-born composer talked about her work with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, about the encouragement given her by choreographer Arthur Mitchell and composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Dance and the theater figure prominently in her exhilarating piece for piano and percussion–and I’m told, in her other works as well. With an arsenal of instruments–marimba, conga drum, xylophone, chimes–at his command, Dane Richeson engaged in a funky, streetwise pas de deux with Kathleen Murray at the piano. The thoroughly Caribbean beat gave way to interludes of introspective, moody ruminations. Then the beat of the marimba band returned for a frenzied finale that subsided in evanescent chimes. It was a spectacle of rhythms, masterfully timed by Richeson and Murray. This exotic and hugely appealing work deserves a high place in any percussionist’s repertoire.
