Christopher Smith wrote:
On Feb 4, 2005, at 2:56 PM, dhbailey wrote:
I have no clue how to define "major composer" anymore -- so I attempt to steer clear of that title in discussing composers. Who was more major during their lifetimes, Salieri or Mozart? Who is more major now?
Actually, I think it is a bit of a myth to think that Mozart's contemporaries would have considered him a lesser composer than Salieri. I think the truth was quite the opposite. Perhaps Graupner and Bach would have been a better example.
Excellent point, and one which will get you yelled at a lot (not so much discussing Vivaldi vs. Handel, but a whole lot discussing any pre-1900 female composer!)
I really am not much into the "female composer" topic, on the other hand I did write a dissertation on Fanny Hensel and got very high marks for it. And, although I agree that the term "major" composer is a very dangerous one, I tend to argue that she was one. Much more than one of her more famous contemporaries. The reasons? a) She was pretty widely known amongst her contemporaries. In fact she was probably one of the most famous conductoresses ever, and one of the best pianists of her time. Her music was mostly performed in private, but in the presence of some of the most distinguished musicians of her time. Goethe was very fond of her songs. She introduced Gounod to Bach, btw, and the famous "Ave Maria" by Gounod on the first Bach Prelude originally had a different text and was intended as a love song to her. b) She probably invented a whole genre, the song without words. c) She wrote more than most people know (I think I counted about 300 works, admittedly a lot of those works are songs and piano pieces, but there is also a considerable number of larger works. d) Most importantly the quality of her output.
She is also a case of "almost completely forgotten" until quite recently. The MGG (the equivalent of the New Grove in German) completely forgot to mention her in the first edition (1960s/70s; corrected in the much later Appendix).
Johannes
-- http://www.musikmanufaktur.com http://www.camerata-berolinensis.de
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