What would it mean to 'compose like a woman'? The present collection answers the question, in a literal sense, while undoing the premise on which the question was asked in the first place. In social and historical terms, it means enjoying privileges of upbringing, education, and/or wealth that were historically denied to the vast majority of women. It means, on the part of the women represented here, a single-minded determination in pursuit of their vocation, helping them to overcome prejudice and sexism in a cultural, social and political milieu that has consistently denied women the opportunity to find and express their own voice in music. Only with movements of emancipation in the last century, and much more rapidly in the last 50 years, has this situation begun to be addressed and corrected. What composing like a woman does not mean - as the music in this collection makes clear - is a definable set of qualities or characteristics to the music itself which would distinguish the work of female composers from the music composed by men.

This remarkable set gathers many individual recordings of music by women composers, which Brilliant Classics has quietly yet actively championed in their catalogue for decades, uniting it with exciting new outings, so that a comprehensive historical picture of the highly varied struggles and successes of women composers through the ages to our present time are chronicled and celebrated.

Other information:

- Recordings date from 1994-2024

- Booklet in English contains liner notes by Peter Quantrill

- The revival of interest in female classical composers reflects a growing recognition of their overlooked contributions to music history.

For centuries, women composers were marginalized, their works overshadowed by their male counterparts. However, recent efforts by musicians, scholars, and institutions have brought these composers into the spotlight, highlighting the richness and diversity of their compositions.

- This renewed focus stems from a broader movement toward inclusivity in the arts, challenging traditional narratives that have historically excluded women. The rise of feminist musicology has also played a key role, offering fresh perspectives on these composers' lives and works.

- This comprehensive box set offers a wide spectrum of works by female composers, from the Medieval mystic Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179), through the Renaissance Isabella Leonarda (baptized 1620-1704), Francesca Caccini (1587-1640) und Barbara Strozzi (baptized 1619-1677), traversing the Baroque and Classical eras, and arriving in the contemporary field, with composers such as Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) and Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969).

- A long due homage to the art and voice of female composers, spanning nearly a thousand years!

With this album, fittingly entitled Traum der Jugend, the young musicians of Kebyart see a longstanding dream come true. Drawn by its eagerness to reveal new soundworlds, the saxophone quartet has interwoven works from different epochs and given them a new, unconventional guise through its own arrangements. Taking Jörg Widmann’s 7 Capricci as a starting point – a work specially written for the quartet which sparked the idea of this recording – Kebyart draws a myriad of musical connections that journey from Felix Mendelssohn, one of Widmann’s favourite composers, to Johann Sebastian Bach, himself a source of inspiration to Mendelssohn. The programme culminates with a tribute to Fanny Mendelssohn, whose skilful compositions played a key role in developing the musical personality of her brother Felix.

The 19th century salon was a major vehicle for the spread of culture and the transmission of new artistic and literary trends in Europe, as well as being a space overtly dominated by women. Aiming to recreate the musical atmosphere of a 19th-century salon, this recording revolves around two fundamental objectives. The first, to perform music by women who, as composers, performers and hostesses, were absolute cornerstones of these spaces. Second, to perform the songs, originally accompanied by piano, with newly made guitar arrangements.

The arrangements on this album have been made following a scrupulous transcription from the piano parts, retaining the harmonic essence whilst capturing the full polyphonic interplay. Several guitar effects have also been incorporated (tambora, harmonics, strumming, etc.), bringing a fresh twist to the original versions. All this contributes not only to expanding the guitar repertoire, but to the discovery of unfamiliar works.

Pauline Viardot (1821–1910) was born in Paris to a highly musical Spanish family and enjoyed an illustrious career as a singer. Returning to Paris in 1870, she established one of the most important musical salons of the time. Viardot’s songs have palpable Spanish roots, and her later pieces, like ‘Caña española’, were likely influenced by her father’s compositions. María Malibrán (1808–1836), Viardot’s elder sister, is most famous as an illustrious Spanish opera diva. Isabel Colbrán (1784/5–1845) was a Spanish opera singer and the first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini. In the early years of her career, she composed 24 short Italian arias which bear a certain Rossinian stamp. That said, as those arias were written before she met Rossini, it must be queried who influenced whom.

Pauline Duchambge (1778–1858) is perhaps the least known of these composers, and this album showcases a number of her songs that have never previously been recorded. A pianist, singer and guitarist, Duchambge studied composition with Cherubini and Auber, mainly composing romances on idealised romantic or historical themes (for example, ‘Celle qui voudrait m’aimer’).

Fanny Hensel (1805–1847) was the elder sister of Felix Mendelssohn. Although she received a thorough musical education, Fanny’s father barred her from publishing her compositions. Several of her songs were published under Felix’s name, including ‘Die Nonne’, but she later published the set containing ‘Schwanenlied’ under her married name. She hosted the so-called ‘Musical Sundays’, soirées attended by leading artists and intellectuals of the day, including Clara and Robert Schumann, Heine, Paganini, and Gounod.

The life of Clara Wieck (1819–1896) was demanding, given that she had to be the bread-winner for her eight children as a concert pianist, owing to her husband Robert Schumann’s mental illness. The two lieder on this album are from Clara and Robert’s jointly published Zwölf Lieder song cycle.

1805-1847 were a short time to live for the very talented sister of Felix. History aimed the spotlight on the brother, not without justice, for he was a musical genius and to many an icon. His sister, Fanny, who later married and took the last name Hensel, often played four-hand with brother Felix, she was a fine singer and music came as natural to her as to her brother. Sadly time only allowed her too few compositions, but what we have today should be much more appreciated. The 12 piano pieces, each for every month of the year surely could have been composed by Felix and they lack nothing in brilliance, musicality and pianistic virtuosity. Leading Danish pianist Christina Bjørkøe gives a splendid performance.

Märchenhaft (Swedish "sagolikt") is a concert program by Nordic Light Duo inspired by the wonderful fairy tale world of the popular children's book author Elsa Beskow. Devotedly and lovingly designed, Beskow's fairy tales and illustrations run like a thread through the musical delightful experiences in it. The program is divided into five sections, each representing a fairy tale: Flower Festival in Täppan, The Story of the Curious Perch, Putte's Adventure in the Blueberry Forest, The Journey to the Land of Long ago, and The Sun Egg. Each section immerses you in an exciting story, enhanced by Elsa's original illustrations. These texts and pictures are then accompanied by songs and piano pieces chosen to match the stories.

Two illustrations are even firsts and can only be seen in this publication, thanks to Daniel Beskow's family ties to Elsa Beskow, his paternal great-grandmother. Because of this connection, the idea for the Märchenhaft project was born in 2018. With it, the two musicians wanted to contribute to the rebirth of Elsa's fantasy world and bring a new musical fairy tale series to life. They firmly believe that this fairy tale treasure belongs to the European cultural heritage and with its re-release in a musical guise, they found an opportunity to pay tribute to Elsa's work in an original way and bring it to a new, larger audience. Fairy Tale has become a huge success in Sweden and the duo has given over a hundred concerts under this name in recent years. The intimate setting, the imaginative mood and the interplay between literature, music and visual arts remain the main features of this exciting project, which we can now also experience on this sound recording.

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was born in Hamburg in November 1805, the eldest of four siblings (the second was Felix, followed by Rebecca and Paul). The Mendelssohn family, of Jewish lineage, and belonging in the upper bourgeois class, gave a brilliant cultural education to their four children. Fanny was not only an exceptional pianist, but also an exceptional composer; her style is very close to that of Felix, the best known of her siblings. Her output is rich and substantial and includes more than four hundred pieces, comprising Lieder, organ works, chamber music, cantatas, an oratorio and an orchestral overture. In spite of her prolific creative output, some of her works remain still unpublished. This album focuses on a part of her piano works written between 1838 and 1841, which are particularly interesting.

The piano cycle Das Jahr (The Year) (1841) is the main work of this collection, written during her Italian journey. It is made up of twelve pieces, each bearing the name of a month, plus an epilogue, each expressing the particular feelings and atmosphere of the month in question. There are many thematic cross references between the pieces, as well as numerous references to Bach, connected to the music typical for the Lutheran worship. Also included are the two Nocturnes and the Introduction and Capriccio in B minor, in which the influence of her brother Felix is particularly evident. Italian pianist Martina Frezzotti studied with Lazar Berman at the Piano Academy of Imola and later with Elisso Virsaladze at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she obtained her Doctorate in Music with full marks in 2012, the first Italian in history of this prestigious university.

Pianist Antonio Oyarzabal takes us on a journey through the work of thirteen different female composers, most of them pianists. Their pieces have been a real source of motivation and inspiration for him. Here he pays tribute to the names and work of these women, unfairly and sadly neglected, in the shadow of compositions written by men. It is a musical journey that takes us on different paths: from Jacquet de la Guerre’s French Baroque style to the avant garde proposals of Ruth Crawford Seeger in the beginning of the XXth century; from Lili Boulanger’s languor to Germaine Tailleferre’s constant joviality; or from the more popular Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn to the almost completely unknown Mana Zucca or Lucija Garuta. All of this is expressed by the extraordinary sensitivity of a performer who, through long and intense research, has dived deep into the life and historical context of these thirteen unique artistic voices, in order to provide them with the relevance they deserve.

This new release features works for solo piano by female composers from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, performed by Anna Shelest. Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest is an international award-winning pianist who has thrilled audiences throughout the world. An “effective collaborator” (The New York Times), Anna made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra, playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Since then she has been a soloist with some of the world’s finest orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Estonian National Symphony, among others. Born in Ukraine, she received her early music education at Kharkiv Special Music School. Since graduating from The Juilliard School with a Masters Degree in the class of Jerome Lowenthal, Anna has made her home in New York City with her husband and two sons.