Arguably the greatest success in the ongoing rediscovery of neglected music by women has been
Louise Farrenc, who, at the last turn of the century, was all but unknown. She managed to become a professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Paris, even though women students were not admitted, and much of her piano music is bold and entirely distinctive. Her chamber music, including a
Nonet that was celebrated even in its own time, is also very strong.
Farrenc's orchestral music, all of which is gathered on the present release except for that involving piano, dates from later in her career and is not quite on the same level, but any audience of the 1840s, when all three symphonies were composed, would have considered them state-of-the-art. The two minor-key works are Beethovenian in spirit and in concision; there is nothing of the diffuse structures of a
Hummel or a
Czerny here. Surely
Farrenc knew the orchestral music of
Mendelssohn, clearly audible in the sprightly
Symphony No. 2 in D major, in D major, Op. 35. Another model is
Mozart; compare the
Overture No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 24, with the mature opera overtures of
Mozart, especially that of
Don Giovanni.
Farrenc's orchestration is lively throughout. The historical-instrument performances of the
Insula Orchestra and conductor
Laurence Equilbey are not as smooth as other work by this ensemble but probably do a good job of conveying what this music sounded like at its first performances. Essential for collections of music by women, this release is highly listenable for anyone. ~ James Manheim
