CÉCILE CHAMINADE (1857 – 1944). Now here is a female composer who did actually get recognized and published - 400 pieces published.
Born 1857, in Paris, she was a piano prodigy who was taught by her mother and composed little pieces for her cats and dogs and dolls. Offered a place at the Conservatoire but forbidden by her father to take it up, she was however permitted to study at home and when she was 21, made a sensational recital debut that not only consisted entirely of all her own works, this was always a feature of her programs, but that were suddenly pieces that everybody wanted to play. Tours followed all over, including a wildly successful 12-concert tour of the States. She played like a man, the critics said. That’s supposed to be a compliment. She was the first woman to win the Légion D’honneur and one of the first pianists ever to be recorded on piano roll, famous for her Flute Concertino of 1902.
And she did get married. She lived in Paris. Her husband was a music publisher who lived in Marseille...
Presented by composer Joan Tower for International Women’s Month in March, written and produced by Charlotte Wilson for WMHT
