8 FEBRUARY 2019

LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI - FINLAND
BORN 8 FEBRUARY

Lotta Wennäkoski studied first violin, music theory and Hungarian folk music in the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest. She then studied music theory and composition at the Sibelius Academy and got her diploma in 2000. Her main composition teachers have been Eero Hämeenniemi, Kaija Saariaho and Paavo Heininen. 1998-99 Wennäkoski studied in the Netherlands with Louis Andriessen.

Lotta's music falls within the Modernist camp, but she distinguishes herself as a master of lyrical tones. “The music is buoyant and lucid, as if waiting for the listener to jump up and grab hold of its sound world,” writes Karoliina Vesa about Hava (2007) for orchestra. Lotta says she has always been interested in language and literature, including lyrical poetry. On the other hand, she is not afraid to tackle wild and brutal subjects: her monodrama Lelele (2010–2011) is about forced prostitution and sex slavery. 

Among the latest orchestral works of Wennäkoski are Flounce commissioned by the BBC for the Last Night of the Proms (World premiere: 9.9.2017) and Uniin asti for male choir and orchestra commissioned by the Finnish RSO (World premiere: 6.12.2017). 

♫ LISTEN

Flouce (World Première) by Lotta Wennäkoski 

► LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI'S WEBSITE

MARGARET BROUWER - USA
BORN 8 FEBRUARY

Award-winning composer Margaret Brouwer has earned critical accolades for her music's lyricism, musical imagery and emotional power. Lawson Taitte of The Dallas Morning News praised Brouwer saying, “Ms. Brouwer has one of the most delicate ears and inventive imaginations among contemporary American composers.” 

In May 2014, Naxos released a CD on its American Classics Series featuring the chamber music of Brouwer titled “Shattered.” Jordan Borg from NewMusicBox wrote, "From the relentless, primal energy of 'Shattered Glass' to the naked beauty of 'Whom do you call angel now?'...Brouwer’s music represents just how uniquely diverse the output and voice of a single composer can be." The Classical Reviewer states, “"Margaret Brouwer has an ear for creating some exquisite sounds and textures that listeners will find beguiling. The performances are first rate, as is the recording." ClevelandClassical declares: "(Brouwer) has a talent for taking the simplest melody and through her expansive array of compositional techniques, develop it into a polished musical gem. And even when employing a twelve-tone row, Brouwer never ventures into the realm of compositional gimmickry. Every note she writes has musical purpose."

♫ LISTEN    

Whom do you call angel now? by Margaret Bouwer

►MARGARET BROUWER'S WEBSITE

7 FEBRUARY 2019

LADY MARY DERING - UK 
DIED 7 FEBRUARY

Lady Mary Dering (née Mary Harvey) was an English composer. She was born in Croydon on 3 September 1629, daughter of Daniel Harvey and Elizabeth Kynnersley. Daniel Harvey was a wealthy London merchant and member of the Levant Company, his eldest brother being the anatomist William Harvey.

At school in 1640, at Hackney's "Ladies university of the female arts", she began a friendship with Katherine Philips (the Matchless Orinda). Mary studied with Henry Lawes, who dedicated his book to her; in the dedication he highly praises her compositions, and says that few of any sex have matched their perfection. Some of her music was published in John Playford's Select Ayres and Dialogues, and three of her songs were published in Lawes' Second book of airs; these are the first known published works by a woman in England.

On 5 April 1648 Mary Harvey married to Sir Edward Dering. They had seventeen children, seven of whom died young. She survived her husband by twenty years, dying in February 1704 she also outlived her eldest son Sir Edward Dering, 3rd Baronet.

Lady Dering was buried at Pluckley in Kent, and has a memorial inscription in the church there.

♫ LISTEN 

A false design to br cruel by Lady Mary Dering 

►FIND SCORES BY LADY MARY DERING

CATERINA ASSANDRA  - ITALY

Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 – after 1618) was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun. In her surviving motet book, Motetti a due a tre voci op.2, Assandra alludes to her birthplace being in the Province of Pavia. She became famous as an organist and published various works during her lifetime. Her work Motetti a due, was dedicated to G.B. Biglia, the Bishop of Pavia, and was first recognized by publisher Lomazzo. Although Assandra had accumulated a substantial reputation for her works as a composer, even reaching outside the borders of Italy, she was at times confused with another 18th-century composer with the same name. And although the date of her birth is approximate, the date of her death is still unknown.

Two of her compositions from Op. 2 appeared in German publications during the decade and a half following their original appearance. Two works by her, otherwise unknown, also appear in German tablature in a manuscript located in the Furst Thurn und Taxis library in Regensburg. Assandra's motets were among the first in the Roman style to be published in Milan, as Borsieri noted.Researchers suggest Borsieri must have heard in her music the influence of Agazzari, whose small-scale works had recently been published in the city. She composed both highly traditional pieces and more innovative works. Among the latter is Duo seraphim. Her motet O Salutaris hostia, included in Motettiop. 2, was one of the first pieces to include 'violone'.

♫ LISTEN    

Veni dilecte mi by Caterina Cassandra

►FIND SCORES BY CATERINA ASSANDRA