"I am NOT a Woman Composer!" The Life and Music of Louise Talma (1906-1996)
I am writing a biography about composer, pianist, and pedagogue Louise Talma. The working title of this biography is “I am NOT a Woman Composer!” The Life and Music of Louise Talma (1906-1996) . I have an advance contract with the University of Illinois Press. Three more chapters, three more years (yes, my 12-month, full-time job takes lots of time). But now that I am about halfway through the book, the momentum is helping. Right now, I am writing Chapter IV which is built around the correspondence between Talma and Pulitzer Prize winner Thornton Wilder. Together they wrote a three-act grand opera, The Alcestiad . It was premiered in Germany in 1962 to twenty minutes of audience cheers, but has never been performed since or in the original language. Talma declared it "too expensive." I am writing this book because when I ask people how many twentieth century female composers they can name, I hear crickets. Talma is part of the fabric of twentieth century art musi...
Click on the link title and it will take you to a fabulous article outlining the lives of these 18 inspirational Women in Music on the WQXR Website!
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