“Music is the superlative expression of life experience,” the American composer Amy Beach once declared, “and woman by the very nature of her position is denied many of the experiences that color the life of man.”
Beach, whose musical career spanned the end of the 19th century and the early portion of the 20th, was acknowledging an objective truth of her time, and one that still holds relevance today. But the enduring appeal of Beach’s music — piano pieces, choral and chamber works, and orchestral statements like the historic Gaelic Symphony — speaks to the far-sighted perseverance of an artist who refused to be hemmed in by circumstance.
She’s among more than two dozen women composers that WRTI will feature in our classical broadcast during Women’s History Month. Every day in March, with the exception of Sundays, a different composer will take the spotlight, with her music played at the start of the 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. hours from Monday through Friday, and to begin the 10 a.m. hour on Saturdays.
The life experience of these featured composers covers an expansive range, and so does the music — from the visionary liturgical monophony of Hildegard von Bingen to the affirming contemporary tapestries of Valerie Coleman. In between, we’ll hear pieces by everyone from the 17th-century French harpsichordist Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre to the 20th-century pianist and educator Margaret Bonds to the prolific present-day artist Caroline Shaw. Below, find a daily rundown of our featured composers.
- Monday, March 2: Marianna Martines
- Tuesday, March 3: Florence Price
- Wednesday, March 4: Emilie Mayer
- Thursday, March 5: Cécile Chaminade
- Friday, March 6: Jennifer Higdon
- Saturday, March 7: Avril Coleridge-Taylor
- Monday, March 9, Amy Beach
- Tuesday, March 10, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
- Wednesday, March 11, Elizabeth Maconchy
- Thursday, March 12, Hildegard von Bingen
- Friday, March 13, Errollyn Wallen
- Saturday, March 14, Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi
- Monday, March 16, Amanda Rontgen Maier
- Tuesday, March 17, Ina Boyle
- Wednesday, March 18, Margaret Bonds
- Thursday, March 19, Isabella Leonarda
- Friday, March 20, Elena Kats-Chernin
- Saturday, March 21, Elsa Barraine
- Monday, March 23, Clara Schumann
- Tuesday, March 24, Mel Bonis
- Wednesday, March 25, Valerie Coleman
- Thursday, March 26, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre
- Friday, March 27, Elfride Andree
- Saturday, March 28, Henriette Bosmans
- Monday, March 30, Caroline Shaw
- Tuesday, March 31, Ethel Smyth