Famous women composers. Outstanding women composers. Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin

WOMEN Pavel screamed. Gritted his teeth. Suddenly it became quiet. It seemed to Natasha that he was no longer breathing. Natasha fearfully pressed her ear to her parched lips. The old woman was sleeping. A lamp without glass blinked on the stove. The wrong light made the bony, hot head look ugly

Composition, like many other creative professions, is traditionally considered the privilege of the “strong half of humanity.” However, at all times there were gifted female musicians who did not agree with this state of affairs. They boldly defended their right to creativity and often achieved great success in the composing field.

One of the most famous female composers is probably Clara Schumann (1819-1896), née Wieck, wife of Robert Schumann. Since childhood, Clara has demonstrated extraordinary abilities in playing the piano and composing. Her professional growth was facilitated by her father, a talented teacher who personally taught the child prodigy. Clara met Schumann when he also began taking piano lessons from her father. Friedrich Wieck prevented his daughter from marrying a financially “unreliable” composer, and only through the court did Schumann manage to get permission to get married. After Clara became Schumann's wife, she began to pay more attention to composition. From her pen comes many piano and other pieces in which the influence of Schumann and other romantic composers - Mendelssohn, Chopin is felt. The concert will feature one work by Clara Schumann - Romance for violin and piano in A major op. 23.

Lily Boulanger (1893-1918), the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, the famous pianist and teacher, lived very little - twenty-four years. The Boulanger sisters grew up in a musical family: their father taught vocals at the Paris Conservatory, and their mother, Russian princess Raisa Myshetskaya, was a singer. Lily's musical talent was discovered very early: she learned to play notes faster than to read. In 1913, Lily graduated from the Paris Conservatory, and in the same year she was awarded the Rome Prize for the cantata “Faust and Helena”. Thus, Lily Boulanger became the first female composer to receive this prestigious award (before her, such authors as Berlioz, Gounod, Massenet, and Debussy were winners of the award). Lily was a versatile composer: she wrote instrumental, vocal, choral, and sacred music. The concert will feature a performance of her Nocturne for cello and piano - a light and subtle work with a slight oriental “tint”.

The program included a composition by another French composer, Louise Farranc (1804-1875). Her biography is connected with many famous figures in the world of music of that time: Farrank's mentors were Antonin Reich, Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Hummel. Louise was good at large-scale forms: she wrote no less than three symphonies. Her music was appreciated by Schumann, Berlioz, Chopin, and Liszt. In addition to her composer and teaching activities (Farranc taught at the Paris Conservatory), she also acted as a musical educator, compiling a multi-volume anthology of piano music. The concert will feature two movements from Farranc's chamber work - Trio for flute, violin and cello.

Amy Beach (1867-1944) - representative of the North American continent. She was born in rural New Hampshire; Studied composition, harmony and counterpoint in Boston. She spent most of her life in the United States, however, making a four-year trip to Europe, during which she performed, among other things, her own works. The program included two works by Amy Beach - Romance for violin and piano in A major, op. 23 and Quintet for piano and string quartet in F sharp minor, op. 67. Both plays belong to the romantic movement, and the “pulse” of the 20th century is undoubtedly felt in them.

The Croatian aristocratic family is represented by Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923), daughter of the Ban of Croatia Teodor Pejacevic. It is highly valued in its homeland: the Symphony in F sharp minor, written by Dora Pejačević, is considered the first modern symphony in Croatian music. She wrote quite a lot (fifty-eight) works in various genres, including chamber music, which the Piano Quartet in D minor will introduce listeners to.

Among the venerable names of composers of the past and the century before last, it is especially pleasant to see the name of our contemporary and compatriot - Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina. Not long ago, her 85th birthday was widely celebrated in Moscow. The composer has lived in Germany for many years and continues to compose and communicate with performers of her music. The list of awards and honorary titles received by Sofia Asgatovna in various countries of the world (Japan, Germany, USA, Italy, Denmark and, of course, Russia) is huge. Gubaidulina's music is distinguished by its filigree technique, a fascinating combination of intuitiveness and strict calculation, and sensual timbre coloring. The composition Allegro rustico, which will be performed in the concert, is not entirely typical for her. It is a comic play, the name of which can be deciphered as “Allegro in a rustic style.” Despite the emphasized rhythmic lapidaryness and deliberate angularity of the melody, this piece has an almost magical charm, forcing the listener to follow the course of musical thoughts from the first to the last note.

The concert will be attended by Vladlen Ovanesyants (violin), Roman Yanchishin (violin), Dmitry Usov (viola), Boris Lifanovsky (cello), Stanislav Yaroshevsky (flute), Anna Grishina (piano).

Oksana Usova

The melodies and songs of the Russian people inspired the work of famous composers of the second half of the 19th century. Among them were P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.I. Glinka and A.P. Borodin. Their traditions were continued by a whole galaxy of outstanding musical figures. Russian composers of the 20th century are still popular.

Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin

Creativity of A.N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), a Russian composer and talented pianist, teacher, and innovator, cannot leave anyone indifferent. In his original and impulsive music, mystical moments are sometimes heard. The composer is attracted and attracted by the image of fire. Even in the titles of his works, Scriabin often repeats words such as fire and light. He tried to find the possibility of combining sound and light in his works.

The composer's father, Nikolai Alexandrovich Scriabin, was a famous Russian diplomat and active state councilor. Mother - Lyubov Petrovna Skryabina (nee Shchetinina), was known as a very talented pianist. She graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her professional career began successfully, but soon after the birth of her son she died of consumption. In 1878, Nikolai Alexandrovich completed his studies and received an appointment to the Russian embassy in Constantinople. The future composer's upbringing was continued by his close relatives - his grandmother Elizaveta Ivanovna, her sister Maria Ivanovna and his father's sister Lyubov Alexandrovna.

Despite the fact that at the age of five Scriabin mastered playing the piano, and a little later began to study musical compositions, according to family tradition, he received a military education. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps. At the same time, he took private lessons in piano and music theory. Later he entered the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a small gold medal.

At the beginning of his creative activity, Scriabin consciously followed Chopin and chose the same genres. However, even at that time his own talent had already emerged. At the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote three symphonies, then “Poem of Ecstasy” (1907) and “Prometheus” (1910). It is interesting that the composer supplemented the Prometheus score with a light keyboard part. He was the first to use light music, the purpose of which is characterized by revealing music by the method of visual perception.

The composer's accidental death interrupted his work. He never realized his plan to create “Mystery” - a symphony of sounds, colors, movements, smells. In this work, Scriabin wanted to tell all of humanity his innermost thoughts and inspire them to create a new world, marked by the union of the Universal Spirit and Matter. His most significant works were only the preface to this grandiose project.

Famous Russian composer, pianist, conductor S.V. Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943) was born into a wealthy noble family. Rachmaninov's grandfather was a professional musician. His first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, and later they invited music teacher A.D. Ornatskaya. In 1885, his parents sent him to a private boarding school with the professor of the Moscow Conservatory N.S. Zverev. Order and discipline in the educational institution had a significant influence on the formation of the future character of the composer. He later graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal. While still a student, Rachmaninov was very popular among the Moscow public. He has already created his “First Piano Concerto”, as well as some other romances and plays. And his “Prelude in C sharp minor” became a very popular composition. Great P.I. Tchaikovsky drew attention to Sergei Rachmaninov’s graduation work - the opera “Oleko”, which he wrote under the impression of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Gypsies". Pyotr Ilyich achieved its production at the Bolshoi Theater, tried to help with the inclusion of this work in the theater’s repertoire, but unexpectedly died.

From the age of twenty, Rachmaninov taught at several institutes and gave private lessons. At the invitation of the famous philanthropist, theatrical and musical figure Savva Mamontov, at the age of 24 the composer became the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera. There he became friends with F.I. Chaliapin.

Rachmaninov's career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 due to the non-acceptance of his innovative First Symphony by the St. Petersburg public. Reviews of this work were truly devastating. But the composer’s biggest disappointment was the negative review left by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose opinion Rachmaninov greatly valued. After this, he fell into a prolonged depression, which he managed to get out of with the help of hypnotist N.V. Dalia.

In 1901, Rachmaninov completed work on the Second Piano Concerto. And from this moment his active creative activity as a composer and pianist began. Rachmaninov's unique style combined Russian church chants, romanticism and impressionism. He considered melody to be the main leading principle in music. This found its greatest expression in the author’s favorite work, the poem “Bells,” which he wrote for orchestra, choir and soloists.

At the end of 1917, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia, worked in Europe, and then went to America. The composer had a hard time experiencing the break with his homeland. During the Great Patriotic War, he gave charity concerts, the proceeds of which he sent to the Red Army Fund.

Stravinsky's music is distinguished by its stylistic diversity. At the very beginning of his creative activity, it was based on Russian musical traditions. And then in the works one can hear the influence of neoclassicism, characteristic of the music of France of that period and dodecaphony.

Igor Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov), in 1882. The father of the future composer Fyodor Ignatievich is a famous opera singer, one of the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater. His mother was pianist and singer Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. From the age of nine, teachers taught him piano lessons. After graduating from high school, at the request of his parents, he entered the law faculty of the university. For two years, from 1904 to 1906, he took lessons from N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, under whose guidance he wrote his first works - a scherzo, a piano sonata, and the suite “Faun and Shepherdess”. Sergei Diaghilev highly appreciated the composer's talent and offered him cooperation. The result of the joint work was three ballets (staged by S. Diaghilev) - “The Firebird”, “Petrushka”, “The Rite of Spring”.

Shortly before the First World War, the composer left for Switzerland, then to France. A new period begins in his work. He studies the musical styles of the 18th century, writes the opera Oedipus the King and music for the ballet Apollo Musagete. His author's handwriting changed several times over time. The composer lived in the USA for many years. His last famous work is “Requiem”. A special feature of the composer Stravinsky is the ability to constantly change styles, genres and musical directions.

Composer Prokofiev was born in 1891 in a small village in the Yekaterinoslav province. The world of music was opened to him by his mother, a good pianist who often performed works by Chopin and Beethoven. She became a real musical mentor for her son and, in addition, taught him German and French.

At the beginning of 1900, young Prokofiev managed to attend the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” and listen to the operas “Faust” and “Prince Igor”. The impression received from the performances of Moscow theaters was expressed in his own creativity. He writes the opera "The Giant" and then the overture to "Desert Shores". The parents soon realize that they cannot continue teaching their son music. Soon the aspiring composer, at the age of eleven, was introduced to the famous Russian composer and teacher S.I. Taneyev, who personally asked R.M. Gliera to study musical composition with Sergei. S. Prokofiev passed the entrance exams to the St. Petersburg Conservatory at the age of 13. At the beginning of his career, the composer toured and performed a lot. However, his work caused misunderstanding among the public. This was due to the features of the works, which were expressed in the following:

• modernist style;
• destruction of established musical canons;
• extravagance and ingenuity of compositional techniques

In 1918, S. Prokofiev left and returned only in 1936. Already in the USSR, he wrote music for films, operas, and ballets. But after he was accused, along with a number of other composers, of “formalism”, he practically moved to live in the country, but continued to write musical works. His opera “War and Peace”, ballets “Romeo and Juliet”, “Cinderella” have become the property of world culture.

Russian composers of the 20th century, who lived at the turn of the century, not only preserved the traditions of the previous generation of creative intelligentsia, but also created their own unique art, for which the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

“A man would rather give birth to a child than a woman write good music,” German composer Johannes Brahms once said. A century and a half later, women composers are gathering the world's largest concert halls, writing music for films and performing important social initiatives. “April”, together with the cosmetic brand NanoDerm, talks about women whose talent and work helped refute the stereotype about the “male” profession of a composer.

1. Cassia of Constantinople

The Greek nun Cassia was born into a wealthy Constantinople family in 804 or 805. Today she is known not only as the founder of a convent in Constantinople, but also as one of the first female hymnographers and composers.

Cassia was very beautiful and, according to some sources, in 821 she even took part in the bride parade for Emperor Theophilus. The girl was not destined to become the emperor's wife, and soon Cassia became a nun to spend her whole life in the monastery she founded. There, Cassia composed church hymns and canons, and an analysis of her works, which contain references to the works of ancient authors, allows us to conclude that the girl had a good secular education.

Cassia of Constantinople is one of the first composers whose works can be performed by modern musicians.

2. Hildegard of Bingen

The German nun Hildegard of Bingen was an extraordinary person not only when it came to writing music - she also worked on works on natural science and medicine, wrote mystical books of visions, as well as spiritual poems.

Hildegard was born at the end of the 11th century and was the tenth child in a noble family. From the age of eight, the girl was raised by a nun, and at 14 she began living in a monastery, where she studied art and liturgics.

The girl began composing music based on her own poems as a child, and as an adult she collected her works in a collection called “Harmonic Symphony of Heavenly Revelations.” The collection includes chants, combined into several parts on liturgical themes.

3. Barbara Strozzi

Italian composer Barbara Strozzi, later dubbed "the most virtuoso", was the illegitimate daughter of the poet Giulio Strozzi, who later adopted her. Barbara herself had four illegitimate children from different men. The girl was born in 1619 in Venice and studied with the composer Francesco Cavalli.

Strozzi wrote cantatas, ariettas, madrigals, and her father Giulio wrote the texts for her daughter’s works. Barbara became the first composer to release her works not in collections, but one at a time. Barbara Strozzi's music is still performed and reissued today.

4. Clara Schumann

Nee Clara Wieck was born in 1819 in Leipzig, in the family of Friedrich Wieck, a well-known piano teacher in the city and country. From an early age, the girl learned to play the piano from her father, and already at the age of 10 she began performing successfully in public.

Together with her father, Clara went on a tour of Germany, then gave several concerts in Paris. Around this time, young Clara began to write music - her first works were published in 1829. At the same time, young Robert Schumann became a student of Friedrich Wieck, whose admiration for the teacher’s talented daughter grew into love.

In 1940, Clara and Robert got married. Since then, the girl began to perform music written by her husband, often she was the first to present new works by Robert Schumann to the public. Also, the composer Johannes Brahms, a close friend of the family, trusted Clara with the debut performance of his works.

Clara Schumann's own works were distinguished by their modernity and were considered one of the best examples of the romantic school. Robert Schumann also highly valued his wife’s writings, but he insisted that his wife focus on family life and their eight children.
After the death of Robert Schumann, Clara continued to perform his works, and interest in her own work flared up with renewed vigor in 1970, when recordings of Clara’s compositions first appeared

5. Amy Beach

American Amy Marcy Cheney Beach is the only woman in the so-called “Boston Six” of composers, which, in addition to her, included musicians John Knowles Payne, Arthur Foote, George Chadwick, Edward McDowell and Horatio Parker. The Six composers are considered to have had a decisive influence on the formation of American academic music.

Amy was born on September 5, 1867 into a wealthy New Hampshire family. From an early age, the girl studied music under the guidance of her mother, and after the family moved to Boston, she began to study the art of composition. Amy Beach's first solo concert took place in 1883 and was a great success. Two years later, the girl got married and, at the insistence of her husband, practically stopped performing, concentrating on writing music.

She later performed her own works on tour in Europe and America, and today Amy Beach is considered the first woman who managed to make a successful career in high musical art.

6. Valentina Serova

The first Russian female composer, née Valentina Semyonovna Bergman, was born in 1846 in Moscow. The girl failed to graduate from the St. Petersburg Conservatory due to a conflict with the director, after which Valentina began taking lessons from music critic and composer Alexander Serov.

In 1863, Valentina and Alexander got married, and two years later the couple had a son, the future artist Valentin Serov. In 1867, the Serovs began publishing the magazine “Music and Theater”. The couple maintained friendly relations with Ivan Turgenev and Polina Viardot, Leo Tolstoy, Ilya Repin.

Valentina Serova was quite sensitive to her husband’s work, and after his death she published four volumes of articles about her husband, and also completed his opera “Enemy Power.”

Serova is the author of the operas “Uriel Acosta”, “Maria D'Orval”, “Miroed”, “Ilya Muromets”. In addition to music, she also wrote articles about the art of composition, published memoirs about meetings with Leo Tolstoy and memories of her husband and son.

7. Sofia Gubaidulina

Today, Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina lives and works in Germany, but in her native Tatarstan, music competitions and festivals dedicated to the famous native of the republic are held annually.

Sofia Gubaidulina was born in the city of Chistopol in 1931. As a girl, she graduated from the Kazan music gymnasium, and then entered the Kazan Conservatory, where she studied composition. Having moved to Moscow, Gubaidulina continued her studies at the Moscow Conservatory, and after graduating she received an important parting word for herself from the composer Dmitry Shostakovich: “I wish you to follow your “wrong” path.”

Together with Alfred Schnittke and Edison Denisov, Sofia Gubaidulina was one of the trinity of Moscow avant-garde composers. Gubaidulina worked a lot for cinema and wrote music for such films as “Vertical”, “Man and His Bird”, “Mowgli”, “Scarecrow”.

In 1991, Sofia Gubaidulina received a German scholarship and has since lived in Germany, regularly coming to Russia for concerts, festivals and various social initiatives.

“In Ancient Greece, all harpists were men, but now it is a “female” instrument. Times are changing, and Brahms’s words that “a man would rather give birth to a child than a woman write good music” no longer sound serious,” said Sofia Asgatovna in an interview.