De Montgeroult, Chaminade, De Polignac, Selva, Bonis: Compositrices d'exception

Featuring

Laurent Martin
Hélène de Montgeroult
Cécile Chaminade
Armande de Polignac
Blanche Selva
Mel Bonis

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

Mel Bonis, born Mélanie Bonis, taught herself music and improvisation, later studying at the Paris Conservatoire and becoming the first woman to be elected Secretary of the Société des Compositeurs de Musique in 1910.

Composer Biography

Cécile Chaminade, despite her father's opposition to a professional musical education, became a prolific composer and one of the first female musicians to conduct orchestras.

Composer Biography

Armande de Polignac, a prolific composer with nearly 150 pieces, had her creative drive cut short in the 1930s by illness, leading her to stop composing and promoting her work.

Album & Artwork

The album features five exceptional women composers: Hélène de Montgeroult, Cécile Chaminade, Armande de Polignac, Blanche Selva, and Mel Bonis.

Composer Biography

Hélène de Montgeroult, born into a noble family, became an accomplished pianist and improviser, performing in salons and later becoming a piano professor at the Conservatoire.

Composer Biography

Blanche Selva was a renowned French pianist and pedagogue whose composing activities were long overlooked, and many of her works have disappeared or are untraceable.

Performer Biography

The pianist Laurent Martin is known for rediscovering many little-known French Romantic masterpieces, having recorded 15 CDs for various labels and giving over 40 concerts annually.