An evening dedicated to those unsung women composers

…A woman must not desire to compose—there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?” - Clara Schumann

Societal norms and constraints have kept women composers out of the concert hall for far too long. Even today, how often have we heard the works of women performed? The staggering answer, (according to a 2021 article by Rosie Pentreath in Classic FM) is that only 5% of the works programmed by major orchestras around the world are written by women.

On Friday March 31, the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) presents ‘Unsung Heroines’ paying tribute to the women composers who have gone largely unnoticed for decades, if not centuries.

The four outstanding female composers featured are Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Amy Beach and Cecile Chaminade. Schumann and Hensel’s works fall into the Romantic era, while Chaminade and Beach straddle the 19th and 20th centuries.

Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (sister of Felix), and Clara Schumann (wife of Robert), were both brilliant pianists and composers, whose lives and works have for too long been lost in the shadow of their male counterparts.

Fanny was easily as gifted as her brother, but due to the social conventions of the times, did not publish

her compositions. It was not until the late 20th century that her work gained recognition. Clara Schumann, a child prodigy like Fanny, had a very successful career as a concert pianist. However, her desire to compose and publish diminished as her responsibilities as a wife and mother increased.

Cecile Chaminade was the first woman composer to be elected Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, while Amy Beach was the first successful American woman to compose in serious, large-scale forms of classical music. Her “Gaelic” symphony was the first written by an American

woman to be published.

“Unsung Heroines” features the talented younger generation of SOSL musicians – Shashini Pandithasundera, Tiyanie Sahabandu (piano), Nilupul Silva, Lydia Goonetilleke-Jayamanne (violin), Anouk Obeysekere (flute) and Amani Tissera and Nilupul Silva (cello). They will perform Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor by Clara Schumann, Piano Trio No.1 in D minor by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, 3 Morceaux, Op.31 for violin and piano by Cecile Chaminade, and Romance for Flute and Piano by Amy Beach.

Box plan and tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.