Women and the piano : a history in 50 lives / Susan Tomes.
| Author/creator | Tomes, Susan author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | New Haven : Yale University Press, 2024. |
| Description | ix, 286 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction -- From harpsichord to piano -- From the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries: women and the rise of the piano -- Fifty women pianists. The dawn of the piano era. Anne-Louise Boyvin d'Hardancourt Brillon de Jouy -- Maria Theresia von Paradis -- Jsepha von Auernhammer -- Marianna Martines -- Therese Jansen Bartolozzi -- Sara Levy -- Helene de Montgeroult -- Women in the age of the concert pianist. Maria Szymanowska -- Lucy Anderson -- Louise Farrenc -- Fanny Mendelssohn -- Louise Dulcken -- Marie Pleyel -- Clara Schumann -- Wilhelmine Cluss-Szarvady -- Arabela Goddard -- Amy Fay -- Sophie Menter -- Marie Jaëll -- Leopodine Wittgenstein -- Teresa Carreño -- Cécile Chaminade -- Adele aus der Ohe -- Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler -- Winnaretta Singer -- Amy Beach -- Marguerite Long -- Wanda Landowska -- Olga Samaroff -- Nadia Boulanger -- Myra Hess -- Guiomar Novaes -- Clara Haskil -- Maria Yudina -- Lili Kraus -- Eileen Joyce -- Margaret Bonds -- Annie Fischer -- Nancy Weir -- Alicia de Larrocha -- Tatiana Nikolayeva -- Yvonne Loriod -- Philippa Schuyler -- Zhu Xiao-Mei -- Jazz and light-music pianists. Lovie Austin -- Raie da Costa -- Mary Lou Williams -- Winifred Atwell -- Hazel Scott -- Nina Simone -- Further perspectives -- Where are we now? -- Coda. |
| Abstract | Women are an essential part of the history of the piano--but how many women pianists can you name? Throughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern piano's keys were designed without consideration of women's typically smaller hands. Yet despite their music being largely confined to the domestic sphere, women continued to play, perform, and compose on their own terms. The author traces fifty such women across the piano's history. Including now-famous names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, she also highlights overlooked women: from Hélène de Montgeroult, whose playing saved her life during the French Revolution, to Leopoldine Wittgenstein, influential Viennese salonnière, and Hazel Scott, the first Black performer in the United States to have a nationally syndicated TV show. From Maria Szymanowska to Nina Simone, and including interviews with women performing today, this is a much-needed corrective to our understanding of the piano--and a timely testament to women's musical lives. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2023946542 |
| ISBN | 9780300266573 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 030026657X (hardcover) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML417.T66 W66 2024 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |