Content area
Full Text
Lin Foulk
''Works by women composers aren't performed because they aren't good'' was a sentiment expressed to me five years ago when I first started research on works with horn by female composers. I almost believed this myself, having never performed a solo by a woman up to that point. But after completing an entire dissertation on works for horn and piano by female composers, I now know that women's works are rarely performed not because they aren't good, but because we don't know about them.
Women have been composing music throughout history. 1 However, past societal restrictions and discrimination practices severely limited the type and amount of music women could compose. 2 Although the number of horn and piano works by female composers is relatively few when one glances through repertoire lists such as Bernhard Bruchle's Horn Bibliographie, many of these works are unique additions to the repertoire and should be performed. Performing works by female composers teaches students, performers, and other musicians about the rich history of music-writing by women; enlivens recitals by adding new repertoire; and provides female students with role models, possibly supporting their own compositional efforts.
Below is an annotated list of works I would recommend as valuable additions to the repertoire. This list is selected from 102 titles of horn and piano works by female composers that I could locate to date. The works listed below represent a variety of musical styles, levels of difficulty, lengths, compositional dates, and several generations of composers from all over the world. I have performed almost all of them, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences with a wide range of musical experiences.
Most of the scores can be purchased through your local dealer. If that proves problematic, please explore the websites listed under the title of each work. In many instances, these websites are how I personally gained access to the scores. If a professional recording of the work exists, it has been listed within the annotations. I recorded the works marked with an asterisk as part of my dissertation and the compact disc will soon be available through my website at This website includes a catalog of over 900 works with horn in solo and chamber contexts. My written document, ''An Annotated...