Margaret Ruthven Lang's father, Benjamin Johnson ('B. J.') Lang, was a distinguished Boston musician and pianist who had studied with Franz Liszt.
Composer Biography
Margaret Ruthven Lang (1867-1972) is the first American female composer to have her early orchestral music performed by major American orchestras.
Performer Biography
Pianist Lucy Mauro's recordings with tenor Donald George have been highly praised, with one Lang album designated a 'Recording of the Year' for 2011 by MusicWeb International.
Composition History
Margaret Ruthven Lang stopped composing in 1919, leading to her music falling into nearly total neglect until a recent revival of interest.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Four pieces on this album were inspired by verses from poets of Lang's day, published alongside the scores, making them 'songs without words'.
Compositional Technique
Lang's 'Petit Roman pour le Piano en Six Chapitres' is a programmatic cycle telling a courtly tale of a knight and princess, using recurring 'Leitmotif'-type themes.
Composer Biography
Margaret Ruthven Lang's father, B. J. Lang, conducted the 1875 world premiere of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Boston and performed the piano part himself a decade later.
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