P R O G R a M M E N O T

P R O G R A M M E N O T E S

2021 International Woman’s Day "Choose To Challenge”

Celebrating a day that centres around womens achievement, this livestream concert focuses on 3 women composers born within 12 years of each other who faced artistic and social challenges in a world that was rapidly developing and expanding at the end of the 19th century. The same decade also saw the birth of Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867 - 1934) a woman who challenged the world’s view of women with her outstanding scientific achievements. Marie Sklodowska Curie knew that, “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." These words inspire the heart of Beach, Mahler and Poldowski and their music celebrates their individual challenge to follow their art and their hearts.

All three composers were gifted children yet they all reacted differently to the challenges of their time. Each one leaves a unique imprint with compositions that deserves a voice resounding with their distinctive style. Centred around vocal music in a chamber setting, this was the most consumed art form allowed for women. Amongst the middle and upper classes, women were encouraged to sing and play in domestic settings only. There were exceptions to the rule such as Maria Szymanowska and Clara Schumann but they were rare exceptions. It must be remembered that music academies closed their doors to women so the choice to study music was challenging. In forging a career in music each woman went against the tide of their times. johannes brahns Op.91 No. 1 "Gestillte Sehnsucht" for voice, piano, and cello

Alma Werfel-Mahler, 1879- 1964 Leise Weht Ein Erstes Blühn In Meines Vaters Garten Bei Dir Ist Es Traut for voice and piano

Amy Beach, 1867-1944 Mazurka Dreaming for cello and piano Chanson d'Amour for voice, piano, and cello Irene Regine Poldowski, 1879-1932 Caledonian Market Suite Street Hawkers Harmonica Bloomsbury Waltz Child Talking To A Cat Musical Box Bouncing A Ball for solo piano Brume Columbine Berceuse d'Armorique Le Faune for voice, piano, and cello SONG Translations

Gestillte Sehnsucht Gestillte Sehnsuht "Stilled Longing" by Friedrich Rückert Translation by Jean Lunn

In goldnen Abendschein getauchet, All golden and all drenched in shining, Wie feierlich die Wälder stehn!In leise How solemn stands the woods and trees! Stimmen der Vöglein hauchet In softest voices of birds the evening Des Abendwindes leises Wehn. Breathes out its song in ecstasies Was lispeln die Winde, die Vögelein? What is all this whisp'ring? What is this call? Sie lispeln die Welt in Schlummer ein. It calls all the world to rest now

Ihr Wünsche, die ihr stets euch reget Desires that with your wild temptation Im Herzen sonder Rast und Ruh! Disturb my heart and will not stop! Du Sehnen, das die Brust beweget, And longing with your desolation, Wann ruhest du, wann schlummerst du? When will you rest, when will you sleep? Beim Lispeln der Winde, der Vögelein, In all of this whisp'ring, in this sweet call Ihr sehnenden Wünsche, wann schlaft ihr Desires and my longings, when are you, ein? when are you still?

Ach, wenn nicht mehr in goldne Fernen Ah! when no more to golden distance Mein Geist auf Traumgefieder eilt, My spirit flies on wings of gold, Nicht mehr an ewig fernen Sternen And when the stars' remote existence Mit sehnendem Blick mein Auge weilt; No more my longing eyes behold Dann lispeln die Winde, die Vögelein Then winds will be whisp'ring, and birds will Mit meinem Sehnen mein Leben ein. call, And all my longings will then be still. Leise Weht Ein Erstes Blühn Leise Weht Ein Erstes Blühn by Rainer Maria Rilke "Softly drifts a first blossom" by Rainer Maria Rilke

Leise weht ein erstes Blühn Softly drifts a first blossom von den Lindenbäumen, from the linden trees, und, in meinen Träumen kühn, and, in my audacious dreams, seh' ich dich im Laubengrün I see you in the green arbor hold im ersten Muttermühn absorbed in the first mother's work of Kinderhemdchen säumen. hemming a child's blouse.

Singst ein kleines Lied dabei, You accompany yourself with a little song, und dein Lied klingt in den Mai: and your song rings in the month of May: blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, tief im Traubengarten, deep in the grapevines, blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, meiner Sehnsucht schönsten Traum my longing, in the loveliest dream will ich hier erwarten. will I await.

Blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, Bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, Sommer wird dir's zählen. Summer will reward you. Blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, Bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, schau, ich säume einen Saum see, I sew a hem hier mit Sonnenstrahlen. here with sunbeams.

Blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, Bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, balde kommt das Reifen, soon comes the frost, blühe, blühe, Blütenbaum, bloom, bloom, blossom-tree, meiner Sehnsucht schönsten Traum my longing, in the loveliest dream lehr mich ihn begreifen, teach me to comprehend it, Singst ein kleines Lied dabei, You sing a little song to yourself, und dein Lied ist lauter Mai. And your song is the voice of May.

Und der Blütenbaum wird blühn, And the blossom-tree will bloom, blühn vor allen Bäumen, bloom before all trees, sonnig wird dein Saum erglühn sun will gleam from your hem und verklärt im Laubengrün and transfigure the green arbor wird dein junges Muttermühn [where] your young mother's work will be Kinderhemdchen säumen. hemming a child's blouse.

In meines Vaters Garten In My Father's Garden By Otto Erich Hartleben Translation by Emily Ezust

In meines Vaters Garten - Bloom, my heart, bloom forth - blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - Three wondrous maidens in meines Vaters Garten Slept under the apple tree -- stand ein schattender Apfelbaum - Sweet dream -- Süsser Traum -stand ein schattender Slept under the apple tree. Apfelbaum. The youngest of the fine ladies -- Drei blonde Königstöchter - Bloom, my heart, bloom forth! -- blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - The youngest of the fine ladies drei wunderschöne Mädchen Blinked but did not awake -- schliefen unter dem Apfelbaum - Sweet dream -- Süsser Traum - Blinked but did not awake. schliefen unter dem Apfelbaum. The second moved a hand over her hair -- Die allerjüngste Feine - Bloom, my heart, bloom forth! -- blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - The second moved a hand over her hair, die allerjüngste Feine Saw the morning's hemline of red -- blinzelte und erwachte kaum - Sweet dream -- Süsser Traum - Saw the morning's hemline of red. blinzelte und erwachte kaum. She spoke: Did you not hear the drum? Die zweite fuhr sich übers Haar - Bloom, my heart, bloom forth! -- blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - She spoke: Did you not hear the drum? sah den roten Morgentraum - Clearly through the twilight space -- Süsser Traum - Sweet dream -- Clearly through the twilight space? Sie sprach: Hört ihr die Trommel nicht - blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - My beloved joins me on the battlefield -- Süsser Traum - Bloom, my heart, bloom forth -- hell durch den dämmernden Traum? My beloved joins me on the battlefield, Kisses me as the victor on the hem of my Mein Liebster zieht in den Kampf - uniform -- blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - Sweet dream -- mein Liebster zieht in den Kampf hinaus, Kisses me as the victor on the hem of my küsst mir als Sieger des Kleides Saum - uniform. Süsser Traum - küsst mir des Kleides Saum! The third spoke -- and spoke so softly -- Bloom, my heart, bloom forth! -- Die dritte sprach und sprach so leis - The third spoke -- and spoke so softly -- blühe mein Herz, blüh auf - I kiss the hem of my beloved's uniform. die dritte sprach und sprach so leis: Sweet dream -- Ich küsse dem Liebsten des Kleides I kiss the hem of my beloved's uniform. Saum - Süsser Traum - ich küsse dem Liebsten des Kleides Saum. - (continued) (continued) In meines Vaters Garten - blühe mein In my father's garden -- Herz, blüh auf -in meines Vaters Bloom, my Gartensteht ein sonniger Apfelbaum - heart, bloom forth! -- Süsser Traum -steht ein sonniger In my father's garden Apfelbaum! Stands a leafy apple tree -- Sweet dream -- Stands a leafy apple tree.

Bei Dir Ist Est Traut Bei Dir Ist Est Traut by Rainer Maria Rilke "I am at Ease With You" Translation by Knut W. Barde

Bei dir ist es traut: I am at ease with you, Zage Uhren schlagen faint clocks wie aus weiten Tagen. strike as from olden days, Komm mir ein Liebes sagen - Come, tell your aber nur nicht laut. love to me, But not too loud! Ein Tor geht irgendwo draussen im Blütentreiben. Somewhere a Der Abend horcht an den Scheiben. gate moves Lass uns leise bleiben: Outside in the Keiner weiss uns so. drifting blossoms, Evening listens in at the window panes, Let us stay quiet, So no one knows of us!

Chanson d'Amour Chanson d'Amour by Victor Hugo Translation by Amy Beach

L'aube naît, et ta porte est close ! Still asleep, when the dawn is breaking Ma belle, pourquoi sommeiller ? My dearest, thy portal unfold À l'heure où s'éveille la rose When roses around thee are waking Ne vas-tu pas te réveiller ? Arouse thee now to joys untold!

Ô ma charmante, O, My beloved, Écoute ici I sing to thee, L'amant qui chante Sighing, imploring, Et pleure aussi ! Eternally

Toute frappe à ta porte bénie. All Nature a welcome is bringing, L'aurore dit : Je suis le jour ! Aurora says, "I am the day!" L'oiseau dit : Je suis l'harmonie ! And sweetly the bird is singing Et mon cœur dit : Je suis l'amour! And my heart, my heart says "I love alway!"

Ô ma charmante, O, My beloved, Écoute ici I sing to thee, L'amant qui chante Sighing, imploring, Et pleure aussi ! Eternally

Je t'adore, ange, et t'aime, femme. I adore theem I love thee truly. Dieu qui pour toi m'a complété God, who has filled my life with thine, A fait mon amour par ton âme, Created mine eyes for thy beauty Et mon regard pour ta beauté ! And for they soul, this love divine!

Ô ma charmante, O, My beloved, Écoute ici I sing to thee, L'amant qui chante Sighing, imploring, Et pleure aussi ! Eternally

Ô ma charmante, O, My beloved, Écoute ici I sing to thee, L'amant qui chante Sighing, imploring, Et pleure aussi ! Eternally Berceuse d'Armorique Berceuse d"Armorique by Anatole le Braz Translation by Hélène Lindqvist

Dors, petit enfant, dans ton lit bien Sleep little child, in your soft bed: clos : May God take pity on the sailors! Dieu prenne en pitié les matelots ! - Sing your song, sing, old woman! - Chante ta chanson, chante, bonne The moon is rising and the sea is awakening. vieille ! La lune se lève et la mer s'éveille. In that cold country, the swell of the fjords Sings its lullaby while lulling the dead. Au pays du Froid, la houle des fiords Chante sa berceuse en berçant les morts. - Sing your song, sing, old woman! The moon is rising and the sea is awakening. - Chante ta chanson, chante, bonne vieille ! Sleep little child, in your soft bed, La lune se lève et la mer s'éveille. For you will go away as they all go away.

Dors, petit enfant, dans ton lit bien doux, - Sing your song, sing, old woman! Car tu t'en iras comme ils s'en vont tous. The moon is rising and the sea is awakening.

- Chante ta chanson, chante, bonne Your eyes already have the colour of the vieille ! waves. La lune se lève et la mer s'éveille. May God take pity on the sailors!

Tes yeux ont déjà la couleur des flots. - Sing your song, sing, old woman! Dieu prenne en pitié les bons matelots ! The moon is rising and the sea is awakening.

- Chante ta chanson, chante, bonne vieille ! La lune se lève et la mer s'éveille.

Brume Brume by Paul Verlain Translation by Peter Low

L'ombre des arbres dans la rivière The shadow of the trees in the misty river embrumée fades and dies like smoke; Meurt comme de la fumée, while above, among the real branches, Tandis qu'en l'air, parmi les ramures the doves are lamenting. réelles, Se plaignent les tourterelles. Oh traveler, how well this pale landscape Combien, ô voyageur, ce paysage blême mirrored you pallid self! Te mira blême toi-même, And how sadly, in the high foliage, your hopes Et que tristes pleuraient dans les hautes were weeping, feuillées, - your hopes that are drowned. Tes espérances noyées.

Columbine Columbine by Paul Verlaine Translation by A.S. Kline

Léandre le sot, Leander the fool, Pierrot qui d'un saut, Pierrot hopping too De puce Like a flea Franchit le buisson, And leaping the wood, Cassandre sous son Cassander with hood Capuce, Monkishly,

Arlequin aussi, And then Harlequin, Cet aigrefin si That scoundrel of sin Fantasque Fantastic, Aux costumes fous, Mad-costumed so, Ses yeux luisants sous His eyes a-glow, Son masque, Can't mask it,

- Do, mi, sol, mi, fa, - – Do, mi, so, mi, fa – Tout ce monde va, All from wide and far, Rit, chante Go laughing Et danse devant Sing for her, dancing Une belle enfant That arch little thing Méchante Enchanting

Dont les yeux pervers Whose eyes perverse Comme les yeux verts Green or something worse Des chattes Like a cat, Gardent ses appas Cry, in her charms’ cause, Et disent: "À bas ‘Ah, mind where your paws Les pattes!" Are at!'

- Eux ils vont toujours! - – Ever and on they go! Fatidique cours Fateful stars that flow Des astres, The faster, Oh! dis-moi vers quels Oh, say, towards what Mornes ou cruels Cruel or dismal lot, Désastres What disaster, L'implacable enfant, This implacable flirt, Preste et relevant Nimbly lifting her skirt, Ses jupes, Her troops, La rose au chapeau, A rose in her hair, Conduit son troupeau Leads onward there, De dupes? Her dupes?

Le Faune Le Faune by Paul Verlaine Translation by Peter Low

Un vieux faune de terre cuite An old faun made of terra-cotta Rit au centre des boulingrins, stands laughing in the middle of the lawn Présageant sans doute une suite doubtless predicting an unhappy Mauvaise à ces instants sereins sequel to these serene moments

Qui m'ont conduit et t'ont conduite, which have brought you and me (a couple -- Mélancoliques pèlerins, -- of melancholy pilgrims) Jusqu'à cette heure dont la fuite to this brief transient hour which now Tournoie au son des tambourins. is whirling away to the beat of little drums.

More Information On The Composers

johannes Brahmes

Chamber music was an essential and central feature of Brahms life and his environment. Many of the closest people in his life, pianist Clara Schumann and violinist, Joseph Joachim were colleagues and friends for whom he wrote and performed with. Brahms understood the importance of giving the right register to each instrument so every voice can be heard and this is evident in every note of his chamber music. Vocal music also lies at the heart of Brahms. "The ideal is the folk song” he commented, looking to poetry often to reflect his own emotional and mental state. Alma Mahler

Alma Schindler was born in Vienna, a city that saw the birth of Expressionism, Art Nouveau and Psychoanalysis, all things she experienced in her lifetime. Writer Stefan Zweig describes fin de siècle Vienna as “sticky, perfumed, sultry, unhealthy”. Into this intoxicating world and bohemian society Alma was born, the daughter of respected landscape artist, Emil Schindler. She adored her father who encouraged his precocious daughter to read Goethe, to sing and to play piano. Composing songs from the age of 9 she was a talented pianist. Only 12 when her father died, she felt isolated and betrayed following his death by her mother’s marriage to the artist Carl Moll, her father’s student with whom she had a long-standing affair. Moll was leader of the artist group the “Viennese Succession” and naturally the house was filled with the finest artists of the day including Klimt who gave Alma, blossoming into “the loveliest lady of Vienna” her first kiss.

Surrounded by artistic achieving men who admired her beauty, intelligence and passionate spirit, they flocked to her like moths to a flame. Barred as a woman from entering the conservatoire, music and literature consumed her and instead she studied composition privately with composer Zemlinsky, another to fall under her spell as they bonded over a love of Wagner. Her songs are full of temperament, rich with luxuriant harmonies. To many she was precociously mature, yet her diaries reveal a conflicted young girl full of emotional turmoil and uncertainty. “I want to do something really remarkable - to compose a really good opera—something no woman has ever achieved,” she writes. Other entries show her railing against her obvious delight in male attention: “There is too much zest in me” she said. 1900 Vienna was no place to foster ideas of feminism and Alma was acutely aware it was virtually impossible for a woman, however accomplished, to fully realise her creative potential. “Oh! If only I had been born a boy!” Introduced to Gustav Mahler at a dinner party, another marriage proposal followed. A surprise to many including her mother, Alma announced that she would wed the composer 20 years her senior and accepted stoically the condition that she should give up composing. Alma became his muse, copyist, housekeeper and secretary, all of which took a serious toll on the marriage. Used to being the centre of attention and the charming hostess she engaged in numerous affairs never returning to composing declaring that her creativity had been exhausted. She leaves behind a picture of a complex women, someone who “had what it takes to turn life into a vertiginous carousel.” Companion, lover, and muse to Vienna's best and brightest in the early twentieth century she inspired symphonies, paintings, and poems. Amy Beach

On a trip to the United States Dvořak commented “Here all the ladies play, but I am afraid the ladies cannot help us much. They have not the creative power.” Amy Beach set on challenging this statement in an article in the Boston Times. She proceeded with the success of her Gaelic Symphony to prove him utterly wrong. The first female American composer of large-scale forms she was simultaneously a national symbol of female creativity. Moreover, she was welcomed into the Boston Symphonic School as “one of the boys.”

A child prodigy, harmonising melodies as her mother sang her to sleep at the age of 2, she was playing Beethoven sonatas by the age of 7 with a string of dance compositions under her belt. Women were perceived as intuitive musicians, not capable of intensive training whilst men were sent abroad to study composition in the finest European schools. It was not until the age of 16 that Amy’s austere Calvinist mother allowed her even to perform a concerto in public, a moment Beach considered “the beginning of life”.

Being expressly forbidden from pursing a concertising career or travelling to study, Beach married at the tender age of 18. Her husband also forbade her from teaching or giving concerts (unless for charity); however, the financial security of being a doctor’s wife had the advantage of enabling her to buy books. She relished the chance to immerse herself in studying scores and going to concerts- comparing live performances she heard to the music she studied at home. “I copied and memorized whole scores of symphonies,” she said in interview. “It was like a medical student’s dissection, pioneering work, at least for this country, for a woman to do.” She consumed Bach fugues and Berlioz’s treatise on orchestration and, with her interest in the natural world, even transcribed bird song, developing her own lyrical romantic style. Her oeuvre shows her avid interest in world folk music including themes taken from as far afield as the Balkans to the music of Native American Arctic peoples in her “Eskimo Suite”. Her extensive reading is revealed in her settings of songs to a wide variety of poetic texts, proficient in both French and German. Grief stricken when her husband died whilst she was still young, she sought refuge in her compositions. Poldowski

A lady of many names, Poldowski, Lady Dean Paul and Irène Wieniawska. Irène was born into a musical family. Her father was none other than the vivacious virtuoso and world-famous Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski who, introduced by his friend and the century’s most famous pianist, Anton Rubinstein, fell deeply in love with Elizabeth Hampton, claiming he loved Irène’s mother, “more deeply than the finest Stradivarius or Guarneri”. It was a happy household and whilst Wieniawski was frequently away on tour and died when Irène was young she inherited her father’s characteristics. He was known for outstanding virtuosity a colourful original lifestyle and charming disposition. The family later moved to London where Irène studied composition and piano. Introduced at the age of 21 by her good friend and famous opera singer, Nellie Melba to a baronet she met and married Sir Aubrey Dean Paul becoming Lady Dean Paul. An accomplished singer himself they would often perform together under pseudonyms. The marriage was short and disintegrated after the tragic death of their first child. Irène poured her grief into her compositions writing a violin piece, “Berceuse pour d’ enfant mourant” and the song Berceuse Armorique. It was after the break-up that she travelled to Paris to study in the school of Vincent D’ Indy where she was clearly influenced by the works of Ravel and Debussy. Most of her art songs are set to French symbolist poetry, for which she had a clear insight and sensitivity for setting. Poldowski travelled extensively performing in France, Spain, UK and the States and lived a glamorous lifestyle finding the time to even design high fashion with commissions from no less than the British Royal Family. Unlike Alma Mahler she kept no diaries but her correspondence with musicians and concert organisers expressed a happiness and “joie de vivre”. She always delighted in the chance to perform and hear her music played. Even in ill health which cut her life short at 53, she was noted for her good humour often amusing those who came to keep her company with jokes and regaling humorous anecdotes. After her death it was said that she was open, tolerant extremely intelligent and sensitive with unprecedented qualities of character.

Programme Notes by Eva Marie Doroszkowska Mezzo-soprano Miranda Westcott read music at Birmingham University before attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She was awarded a full scholarship to Dennis O’Neill’s Academy in Cardiff and was subsequently invited to perform in Jersey with Kiri Te Kanawa. Miranda made her debut at the Royal Opera House (ROH) as Second Bridesmaid in Il nozze di Figaro under Colin Davies and also sang Glasha in Katya Kabanova under Sir Charles Mackerras. She has covered roles at ROH, Welsh National Opera and Garsington. Other roles include Kate Pinkerton in Michelle So enjoys a varied career as an orchestral player, Madame Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall; Rossweise chamber musican and teacher. Originally from California, in Die Walküre and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflote for she has lived in the UK for 15 years, first training at the Longborough Opera; Suzuki in Madame Butterfly for Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Opera Project; Smeaton in Anna Bolena Tower of Music on scholarship. Her extensive studies at music London; Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro for conservatoire, international masterclasses, and chamber Surrey Opera, and Olga in Eugene Onegin at Richmond music festivals led to performances around Europe and the Theatre. In concert, Miranda has appeared at the UK. Michelle plays with major UK orchestras including the Wigmore Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Oxford Lieder Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia Festival, English Haydn Festival, Crush Room series at Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Royal ROH and St John’s Smith Square. She looks forward to Philharmonic Orchestra, and has worked on many classical making her Cadogan Hall debut in March 2022. and contemporary/pop session recordings.

Thank You Eva Maria Doroszkowska performs internationally, both as soloist and chamber musician. Her recital work We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to Sands Film has taken her around Europe and Australia. Festival Studios and Olivier for the wonderful work they do in the appearances include performances at Tivoli, community and for inviting us back to perform. As Copenhagen, Edinburgh Fringe, the Beethoven musicians who have been silenced by the pandemic, we are Festival, Malmo, Holland Music Sessions Chopin extremely grateful to have this outlet to prepare, perform, Celebrations, Greenwich and Docklands Festival, the express, and connect with each other and an audience. Busko-Zdroj Summer Festival and St Martins in the Enhanced by warm hospitality and inspiration from this Fields. She is highly regarded for her interpretations of jewel of a theatre, it has been a joy working together to Polish music “an emotionally committed pianist who create this event. Additional thanks to Hildegard sensitively conveys both the lyricism and dramatic Publishing for kindly helping us acquire music and licenses drive of the music”(Polski Informator). She has worked for this event. Last but not least thank you to our audience with two of the 20 th century’s finest composers, for listening and we hope to see you live on stage soon. Gorecki and Per Norgard and has appeared on BBC national television and Polish television and radio. Eva won a government scholarship to study at the Szymanowski Academy in Poland and she also completed postgraduate degrees at Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam and Soloist Class in Copenhagen. She won a scholarship to the the Royal Northern College of Music where she completed undergraduate and post graduate degrees aided by a bursary from the Countess of Munster Trust. Eva teaches at the Royal Academy Junior Department and is an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Festivals. She is also a regular contributor to International Piano Magazine.