Female Composers at the Keyboard – Part 2
Would you like suggestions for repertoire by female composers, and resources you can use and refer to in your piano teaching? Look no further. We’ve started a resource and repertoire list but feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments!
We love these anthologies and Anna Beer’s book for an introduction to the lives and works of female composers
At The Piano With Women Composers: January 2021 Curiosity Box
Female composers are the focus of this month’s Curiosity Box. Our Curiosity Boxes are exclusively available to members of our piano teaching Community. Each month we produce videos, interviews with leaders in piano pedagogy, a webinar and ready-to-use resources. We’ve covered over 70 topics on all aspects of piano teaching so far, and counting!
This month’s Curiosity Box includes a podcast by Director, and Co-Founder Sally Cathcart, where she explores the history of female composers. Another video explores pieces by female composers in Spectrum 3 & 4, available to purchase from musicroom.com.
You’ll also find an interview with Sally and Dr Julie Knerr-Hague, co-creator of Piano Safari exploring the works of four female composers from the 19th century.
In this month’s Curiosity Box webinar, Sally and Sharon introduce and select some of their favourite pieces from At The Keyboard With Female Composers, published by Alfred. There’s also a discount code to purchase the book from Blackrock Music UK.
To dive in and explore all the material, click here.
Here are some more repertoire by female composers and resource ideas suggested by our members:
Beginner REPERTOIRE
Rosa Conrad, Fun Games & Party Pieces, Delightfully Easy Piano Duets (Studio licence available on mymusicresource.com)
June Armstrong, Alphabet
Paula Dreyer, Little Gems
Elissa Milne, Little Peppers
ELEMENTARY REPERTOIRE
21 Amazingly Easy Pieces For Piano, Barbara Arens
Stars, Safari, June Armstrong
INTERMEDIATE REPERTOIRE
East Coast Blues, Nikki Iles, (ABRSM Grade 6)
Idyll (ABRSM Grade 4, 2011-12), Automne (ACTL), Cecile Chaminade,
Moonbeams, Barbara Arens, (ABRSM Grade 4) – suggested by Julie Cooper
All Beautiful & Splendid Things, 12+1 Songs For Piano Solo on Poems By Women, Barbara Arens
Etudes, Louise Farrenc
ADVANCED REPERTOIRE
Desdemona, Mel Bonis, (previous LCM Grade 8 syllabus), suggested by Becs Leighton
The Color Suite, by Madeleine Dring, including Blue Air, (Trinity Grade 8), Pink Minor, (ABRSM Grade 7)
Variation on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann
Troubled Water, Margaret Bonds, (ALCM)
Scarf Dance, Autumn Waltz, and Autumn Concerto by Cecile Chaminade
Scherzo No. 2, Clara Schumann
Fireflies, Sketches Op. 15, 4, Amy Beach
Cradle Song of the Lonely Mother, Amy Beach
Summer Song, Op. 45, No. 3, Agathe Backer-Grondahl
Piano Pieces ,Elizabeth Von Herzogenberg, (Nos 5,6,7,8)
Phoebe, Mel Bonis
Nimble Feet, Florence Price, (LCM Grade 8)
Trois Morceaux, Lili Boulanger, suggested by Genevieve Frost
TO LISTEN TO
Romance: The Piano Music of Clara Schumann, Isata Kanneh-Mason, suggested by Kate Jones
Florence Price, Composer of the Week, BBC Radio 3
ONLINE
YouTube channel “Piano Music She Wrote”
Samantha Ege on Florence Price
ANTHOLOGIES
At The Piano With Women Composers, edited by Maurice Hinson – Alfred – January 2021 Curiosity Box webinar explores this in detail
Four Centuries of Women Composers, Gail Smith, Mel Bay
Women Composers In History, Compiled and edited by Gail Smith, Hal Leonard
TO READ
Sounds and Sweet Airs, Anna Beer
Clara, Janice Galloway (a biographical novel about Clara Schumann)
Women Composers of Classical Music, Mary F McVicker; 369 biographies of women composers from Renaissance to the 20th Century
Men, Women and Pianos, A Social History, Arthur Loesser
Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain, Judith Flanders. A fascinating insight into middle class growth including the role of the piano.
Pianoforte: A Social History of the Piano, Dieter Hildebrandt
Includes a chapter on Clara Schumann and the Maiden’s Prayer, featured in Sally’s podcast in the Curiosity Box
This list is by no means exhaustive – just a selection of our favourites!
If you’re interested to dive into this topic in more detail, why not join us inside the Community to access all the resources inside this Curiosity Box, and add your own ideas? Your first month’s membership is absolutely FREE.
Click here to join and enter the code FREESUPPORT to claim your free month. After that, our usual subscription rate applies.
This blog post is written by Hannah O’Toole, Community & Marketing Manager, The Curious Piano Teachers