Synopsis
As today is International Women's Day, we thought we’d tell you about a wonderful French composer you may or may not have heard of before.
Mélanie Hélène Bonis, or Mel Bonis as she preferred to be called, was a prolific composer of piano and organ works, chamber music, art songs, choral music, and several orchestral pieces. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included César Franck. She was born in 1858 and died in 1937, so her lifetime spanned the age of Hector Berlioz to Alban Berg.
In the 1890s, Bonis reconnected with her first love, a man she had met while still a student, who had encouraged her musical talent. So she left her husband, who did not encourage her, to devote herself full-time to her music. Initially performed and admired in Paris, after World War I her music was neglected, and she became bedridden from arthritis. Despite everything, she continued to compose up to the time of her death at 79.
Among her works are seven piano portraits of women, collectively titled Femmes de Légende, or Legendary Women — some of which, like Salomé, she arranged for full orchestra.
Music Played in Today's Program
Mel Bonis (1858-1937): Salomé; Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse; Leo Hussain, conductor; Bru Zane BZ-2006
On This Day
Births
1714 - German composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (the third son of J.S. Bach), in Weimar
1904 - Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, on the island of Euboca
1911 - American composer Alan Hovhaness, in Somerville, Massachusetts
Deaths
1869 - French composer Hector Berlioz, 62, in Paris
1957 - Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck, 70, in Zurich
1961 - British conductor and arranger Sir Thomas Beecham, 81, in London
1983 - English composer and conductor Sir William Walton, 80, in Ischia
Premieres
1752 - Handel: oratorio Jephtha, in London (Julian date: Feb. 26)
1896 - Rachmaninoff: symphonic fantasy The Rock, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 20)
1898 - R. Strauss: tone-poem Don Quixote, in Cologne, Wüllner conducting
1902 - Sibelius: Symphony No. 2, by the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the composer conducting
1903 - Enescu: Rumanian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2, in Bucharest, with the composer conducting
1934 - Piston: Concerto for Orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting
1954 - Stravinsky: Three Songs from William Shakespeare, at an Evenings on the Roof concert in Los Angeles conducted by Robert Craft
1956 - David Diamond: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting
1957 - Xenakis: Pithoprakta, in Munich
1979 - Rihm: opera Jakob Lenz, in Hamburg at the Opera stabile (Staatsoper)
1991 - Daniel Asia: At the Far Edge for orchestra, by the Seattle Youth Symphony, Ruben Gurevich conducting
2000 - Karen Tanaka: At the Grave of Beethoven for string quartet, in London, by the Brodsky Quartet
2000 - John Tavener: The Lord’s Prayer, in Guildford (England), by the Tallis Scholars
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.
