News and music to start your week!

Jessica Duchen of The JC has the story of Erika Fox, a composer born in Vienna in 1936 who now at age 82 is celebrating the release of the first album of her compositions. The CD features chamber pieces spanning a 25-year period (1980-2005). Says Fox: “I’ve got a CD out and that’s jolly good! I’m very glad that women are being allowed to be human. It makes a nice change.”  More about the CD (and listen to excerpts).

The call for equality is getting some attention in the UK where more than 60 organizations, including The Royal Opera House, English National Opera, and Opera North, are committing to achieving gender equality among composers and creative teams on new operas beginning in 2022.  They follow in the footsteps of the 180 music festivals who have already promised gender-balanced programming by 2022.  Read on at The Stage.

Elizabeth Blair’s latest conversation at Listening to Ladies is with Ayumi Okada (pictured above).  Listen in below, and follow the link to the LtL website for more links and listening examples.

In this week’s New Yorker Alex Ross writes about Meredith Monk’s opera, Atlas, which was recently performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Ross describes the performance as “incandescent” — read on here.

At New Music Box Nebal Maysaud discusses the long standing white supremacy of classical music and why letting it die might be the best way to move forward.  It is time to stop denying the inherently racist history of classical music and work to achieve a truly inclusive and equal creative space for composers, performers, and audiences.

And no better way to start your week than with a playlist curated by The Daffodil Perspective:

What are you listening to and what did we miss?  Let us know!  [email protected]