Symphony Guide Featuring Louise Farrenc

by sarah | Jun 24, 2014

In case you missed it, Tom Service, music critic for The Guardian, featured Louise Farrenc’s Third Symphony in his running Symphony Guide series on his blog.  It’s always wonderful to see a historic(!) woman(!)’s work being featured in a serious...

BBC School Initiative: Ten Pieces

by sarah | Jun 17, 2014

Word  was just released about a new initiative spearheaded by the BBC in British primary schools to awaken youth to classical music, and to get them enthusiastic from a  young age.  The program, as described by the BBC, is to bring professional musicians into schools...

Iran’s First Female Conductor

by sarah | Apr 29, 2014

Public Radio International (PRI) aired a story yesterday on Nazanin Aghakhani – the first woman to conduct an orchestra in Iran. Listen (or find the full text) here. Here is a clip from Aghakani’s YouTube page:   A composer as well as a conductor, you...

Liza Lim in the New Yorker

by sarah | Apr 22, 2014

Alex Ross has a great piece being published in the next New Yorker about Australian composer Liza Lim. Read the full piece here to learn more about Lim’s background as well as to get a sense of her musical style and how her song cycle “Mother Tongue”...

Kaija Saariaho: A Primer

by SMBrown | Mar 31, 2014

By Susan M. Brown Though now hailed as one of the greatest Finnish composers of her generation, Kaija Saariaho readily recalls a time at the Sibelius Academy when male teachers balked at teaching a “pretty girl,” claiming it was a waste of their time. But...

Tania León

by sarah | Mar 31, 2014

Tania León (b. 1943) is a Cuban born composer and conductor.  She began studying piano at the age of four and went on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree at the Alfredo Peyrellade Conservatory and a Master’s Degree from National Conservatory.  She settled in...