to the last petal

The eight-channel sound projection is based on the artist’s interpretations of piano works by forgotten women composers of the Romantic period: Maria Szymanowska, Ciara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn and Tekla BądarzewskaBaranowska, and The March of the Women, a suffragette anthem from Britain written by Ethel Smyth. The work of these women was overshadowed by the successes of the men close to them and the widespread patriarchy, which blocked their flourishing careers and prevented them from leaving a more permanent mark in the cultural space. This theme is explicitly emphasised by Linda Nochlin in her essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? This text has provided the inspiration for the compositional gestures contained in the installation and the deconstruction of the sound matter of the works of the aforementioned female composers. Their tonal nature is interspersed with microtonal interventions, spatial shifts in dynamics and contrasting, aggressive sound design. The concept of the com position and the accompanying installation also refer to the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. In this story, the enchanted rose symbolises selfishness, cruelty and the passing of time, which, when it is impossible to take any action, leads only to a slow death.

Why have there been no “great” women composers? The question is often asked. The answer is no mystery. In the past, talent, education, ability, interests, motivation were irrelevant because being female was a unique qualification for domestic work and for continua/ obedience to and dependence upon men. This is no less true today – Pauline Oliveros, And Don’t Call Them ‘Lady’ Composers, 1970.

Citations

Fanny Mendelssohn, Me/ody op. 4 n°2 (1846)

Maria Szymanowska, Mazurka in F major n°2, Mazurka in C major n°3 (1826)

Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska, Virgin’s Prayer (1851)

Ethel Smyth, The March of the Women (1910)

Ciara Schumann, Romance in A minor Op. 21 n°1 (1853)