Celebrating women’s work in music – today and every day! Happy Labor Day (in the U.S.!)
An excellent new Podcast from Listening to Ladies was just released with Elizabeth Blair speaking to Eleanor Alberga. Don’t miss it!
NPR’s All Things Considered reviews the upcoming new release of Julia Wolfe’s latest large scale piece and recording, Fire In My Mouth, which documents the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. Listen in:
Amy Beach’s 1932 chamber opera Cabildo received a rare performance in London as part of the Grimeborn music festival. The Guardian has a review, and also a link to an excerpt from a 1994 performance — which is still (!) the only commercially available recording of this fun and exciting work. The innovative Grimeborn also performed Scott Joplin’s 1911 opera Treemonisha, which received this review in the Guardian. Way to go, Grimeborn! BTW, we believe the name “Grimeborn” is to playfully suggest a gritty and more accessible opera festival, as opposed to the hoity-toity traditional Glyndebourne Festival,
This past week saw much attention turned to the life and work of contralto Marian Anderson (pictured above) who broke barriers as an African American singer who faced innumerable challenges during the course of career as a direct result of the color of her skin. There are several pieces that deserve attention:
- An article from Alisha Lola Jones discusses the amazing collaboration between Anderson and Florence Price and the history and importance of black women’s music making.
- Shana L. Redmond speaks about Anderson’s long career and history outside of the Lincoln Memorial concert she is primarily remembered for.
- Read about the cultural significance of Marian Anderson’s wardrobe choices in Gayle Wald’s piece titled “The Legacy of Marian Anderson’s Fur Coat”.
- Listen in to the piece aired on All Things Considered about Anderson’s work as “The Most Modest Trailblazer”:
- And don’t miss the curated playlist of recordings, available to stream on Spotify.
AND, speaking of Women’s Work in Music, The University of Bangor, Wales (UK), is hosting their second conference on that subject, Sept. 4-6. And our President, Liane Curtis, is a featured speaker!
And what is YOUR work on women in music? Best sure to let us know! [email protected]