Read on to discover the best piano concertos by female composers, as chosen by pianist Alexandra Dariescu…
Nadia Boulanger – Fantaisie Variée
Nadia Boulanger was one of the most influential composers of all time. Not only did she teach Aaron Copland, Quincy Jones, Daniel Barenboim and Dinu Lipatti, but she was also the first woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony orchestras. So it’s astonishing that her Fantaisie Variée did not have its US premiere until 2022, when I performed it with the Houston Symphony. It’s full of original harmonies, with a beautiful middle theme that makes you want to hug the world. And the ending is so triumphant, building to a massive climax.
Leokadiya Kashperova – Piano Concerto
Until recently, nobody knew about the Russian pianist and composer Leokadiya Kashperova, but she was actually Stravinsky’s piano teacher. Composed in 1900, this is the only concerto she ever wrote: it’s dark, sombre, romantic and full of tunes in the same vein as Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto, written in the same year. Kashperova had huge hands, so the span is enormous – as if written for male hands, not female ones – and there’s a singing quality to the music, particularly in the second movement, which showcases the beauty of tone for which Kashperova was well-known.
Dora Pejačević – Phantasie concertante
Born into a Hungarian-Croatian noble family, Dora Pejačević was the first Croatian composer to write both a symphony and a piano concerto. But I want to focus on her Phantasie concertante: a piece full of vibrant energy and rich colour. Unlike the concerto, it’s very free in structure, with a massive cadenza towards the end which, admittedly, is a bit disproportionate for the piece. I love Pejačević’s sense of spontaneity and the way she oscillates between late-Romanticism and Impressionism, weaving in a lot of striking Slavic influences.
Clara Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor
Clara Schumann started writing the third movement of this concerto when she was 14 as a konzertsatz (concert piece). By 16 she had added another two movements, the most extraordinary of which is the Romanze. It starts with three minutes of piano solo, like a nocturne. Then the cello comes in, the sky opens, and there’s a beautiful love duet for piano and cello. That Clara had the emotional maturity to write this at such a young age is astonishing. Had she not been a woman, I believe this would have been placed alongside the greatest Romantic concertos.
More of the best piano concertos by female composers…
Doreen Carwithen – Concerto for Piano and Strings
After being rejected by publishers, the English composer Doreen Carwithen devoted her life to promoting the work of her husband William Alwyn. But this concerto, written in 1948, demonstrates how good she was. Scored for piano and strings, it makes creative use of the string orchestra’s colour palette, particularly in the second movement where a viola solo temporarily turns the piano into an accompanying instrument. The piece reminds me of film or ballet music: it’s very visual, and it would go well with dancing.
Florence Price – Concerto in One Movement
The first African-American female composer to write a symphony, Florence Price combined a Romantic symphonic idiom with African American melodies, creating intimate and emotional music. Her Concerto in One Movement, dating from 1934, is a fine example. While the first section is Classical in style, the second is a lyrical Adagio with a folk-like quality, and the third is a Juba: an African American dance, with a Charleston vibe. It’s so melodic and accessible, and makes you think about the struggles Price went through to have her music performed.
Germaine Tailleferre – Ballade for Piano and Orchestra
A student of Ravel and the only female member of Les Six, Germaine Tailleferre embraced the avant-garde. At the outbreak of World War II, she was forced to leave most of her scores at home, and so much of her output has been lost. But one of the survivors is this nostalgic Ballade, written in 1920, which creates a sea of colours and textures. In concert, I have coupled it with Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, not only because Ravel was Tailleferre’s teacher, but also because they make a beautiful juxtaposition.
Who is Alexandra Dariescu?
Alexandra Dariescu has chosen her top piano concertos by female composers, but who is she?
Hailing from Iași in Romania, pianist Alexandra Dariescu studied at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music. In 2017, ‘The Nutcracker and I’, her multimedia performance for solo piano with live dance and digital animation, earned international acclaim, and she has subsequently used her platform to promote neglected works by female composers, achieving gender equality in her concert programming. In August, she releases a new album on Signum Classics juxtaposing piano concertos by Clara Schumann and Edvard Grieg.