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JOURNAL of the
In this issue:
Birthday Celebrations
Community Outreach
East Meets West
Illuminate
The Nahaut Songbook
The Quieting of a Prodigy
Racism and Sexism Persist
t
Solfège is Music
Soundbox 4
Struggling in Russia
Tango Avenue
Women on the Record
t
IAWM News
Awards
Members’ News
Pauline Viardot-García
Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Her Birth
Volume 27, No. 1 • 2021
IAWM’s new WEBSITE
will launch
SUMMER 2021
Please UPDATE your member
PROFILE PICTURE
and the link to your WEBSITE
NOW to migrate to the new site
Table of Contents
Volume 27, Number 1 (2021)
Message from the IAWM’s Vice President: Reflections and Reverberations of a Long Winter
and a Resounding Spring...................................................................................................................Dana Reason...............................1
New IAWM Journal Review Editor, Laura Pita.......................................................................................Eve R. Meyer..............................1
A Birthday Celebration!
East Meets West in the Music of Tsippi Fleischer.................................................................. Eve R. Meyer. . .......................2
Reflections on Composing........................................................................................................................Anna Rubin.................................6
Pauline Viardot-García: Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Her Birth.......................................David Otero Aragoneses.............9
The Struggles of Women Musicians in Russia and Great Britain
“Even in Russia, A Wife Has to Cook”: Struggles of a Woman Composer in the Soviet Union.............Celeste Belknap........................12
Did She “Cease Her Funning”? The Quieting of a Prodigy in the Georgian Midlands...........................Vivian Montgomery..................16
Racism, Sexism and Community Outreach
Racism and Sexism Remain Pervasive in Western Classical Music Instruction......................................Paula Maust...............................21
Promoting Social Justice Through Music and Community Outreach......................................................Janice Mautner Markham.........24
Recordings and Books
Women in Music on the Record: The Liza Lehmann, Ethel Smyth, and Florence Price
Sessions at the University of Surrey..................................................................................................Christopher Wiley
...........................................................................................................................................................and Samantha Ege.....................25
Il Solfeggio è Musica! (Solfège is Music!)...............................................................................................Giovanna Dongu.......................29
Tango Avenue: Music on the Stylistic Border ..........................................................................................Jane K.
...........................................................................................................................................................(Evgeniya Kozhevnikova)........30
Tuyulu Takwika: Support The Nahuat Songbook!....................................................................................Sonia Megías.............................32
Recent Releases and Publications...............................................................................................................................................................33
Festival and Congress Reports
Soundbox 4: A Zoom of One’s Own.........................................................................................................Catherine Lee............................35
Illuminate Women’s Music: Shining a Light on the Work of Women
Composers and Performers................................................................................................................Angela Elizabeth Slater.............36
ASMAC Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the 1981 First International Congress
on Women in Music...........................................................................................................................Christina Rusnak.......................39
Reports: Women in Music Organizations
Association of Canadian Women Composers/Association des Femmes
Compositeurs Canadiennes................................................................................................................Diane Berry...............................40
Fifth Annual International Music by Women Festival..............................................................................Julia Mortyakova......................40
Japan: Celebrating Pauline Viardot-Garcia’s 200th Birthday and Two Amateur Concerts......................Taeko Nishizaka........................41
Kapralova Society 2020: A Year in Review..............................................................................................Karla Hartl................................41
Outstanding Women of the MusiCaribe Project International..................................................................Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha....42
In Memoriam
Claudia Montero (1962-2021).............................................................................................................................................................43
Lucy Hale (1994-2021)........................................................................................................................................................................43
Suzanne Summerville (1937-2021).....................................................................................................................................................43
Elena Ostleitner (1947-2021)..............................................................................................................................................................44
IAWM News
Winners of the 2020 Pauline Alderman Awards for Outstanding Scholarship on Women in Music........Monica Buckland......................44
Lauren Spavelko’s Award-Winning Black Box..........................................................................................................................................46
IAWM 2020 Educator Grant.......................................................................................................................................................................46
Awards........................................................................................................................................................................................................47
Members’ News........................................................................................................................................Anita Hanawalt.........................47
The International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) is a global network of
women and men working to increase and enhance musical activities and opportunities
and to promote all aspects of the music of women. The IAWM builds awareness of Journal of the IAWM Staff
women’s contributions to musical life through publications, website, free listserv,
international competitions for researchers and composers, conferences, and congresses, EDITOR IN CHIEF
concerts, the entrepreneurial efforts of its members, and advocacy work. IAWM Eve R. Meyer
activities ensure that the progress women have made in every aspect of musical life evemeyer45@gmail.com
will continue to flourish and multiply. PRODUCTION MANAGER
Lynn Gumert
IAWM MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Members’ News
IAWM membership includes a subscription to Please send your news items to the Members’ MEMBERS’ NEWS EDITOR
the Journal of the IAWM (issued twice a year), News Editor, Anita Hanawalt, at anita@ Anita Hanawalt
participation in the optional IAWM e-mail list, hanawalthaus.net. Submissions are always anita@hanawalthaus.net
eligibility to participate in IAWM competi- welcome concerning honors, appointments, REVIEW EDITOR
tions, and eligibility to apply for participation commissions, premieres, performances, and Laura Pita
in the IAWM congress and annual concert. For other news items, except for radio broad- laurapita830@gmail.com
information on joining, please see the IAWM casts. We recommend that you start with the
website at iawm.org or contact the member- most significant news first, followed by an EDITORIAL BOARD
ship chair at membership@iawm.org organized presentation of the other informa- Samantha Ege
tion. Please note that Anita does not monitor Lynn Gumert
JOURNAL: BACK ISSUES
the listserv for members’ activities. Awards, Anita Hanawalt
For information on purchasing back issues,
recent publications, and recent CD releases Deborah Hayes
contact Julia Mortyakova at membership@
are in separate columns, and that informa- Eve R. Meyer
iawm.org.
tion should be sent to the editor in chief at Laura Pita
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS evemeyer45@gmail.com.
Articles Reports and Announcements
Before submitting an article, please send an Reports on women-in-music activities from IAWM Board of Directors
abstract (two or three paragraphs), the ap- our sister organizations and IAWM commit-
proximate number of words in the article, tees as well as reports on music festivals and PRESIDENT
and a brief biography to the editor in chief, other special events should be sent to the Christina Rusnak
Dr. Eve R. Meyer, by e-mail at evemeyer45@ editor in chief, Dr. Eve R. Meyer, by e-mail:
VICE PRESIDENT
gmail.com. Most articles range between 1,500 evemeyer45@gmail.com. Announcements
Dana Reason
and 5,000 words. The subject matter should of future events and of recently released CDs
relate to women in all fields of music, either and publications should also be sent to the TREASURER
contemporary or historical. If the proposal is editor in chief. Deborah J. Saidel
approved, the editor will send detailed infor-
mation concerning the format, illustrations, Deadlines
SECRETARY
and musical examples. Musical examples and Reviews: March 1 and September 1 Kelly Vaneman
photos should be in high resolution (300 dpi Articles: March 15 and September 15
minimum) and must be sent in separate at- Members’ news, reports, advertisements: SUPPORTING MEMBERS
tachments. For questions of style, refer to the March 30 and September 30. Gaby Alvarado
Chicago Manual of Style. Authors are respon- Kerensa Briggs
sible for obtaining and providing copyright IAWM WEBSITE Wanda Brister
permission, if necessary. Please visit the IAWM Website at www. Monica Buckland
Christina Butera
Reviews iawm.org.
Roma Calatayud-Stocks
Compact discs and books for review should PUBLICATION Michele Cheng
be submitted to the Journal's new Review Ed- Carolina Hengstenberg
itor, Laura Pita. Scores will be considered for Copyright © 2021 by the International
Matthew Hoch
review if accompanied by a recording. If you Alliance for Women in Music. All rights
Natalia Kazaryan
wish to be included on the list of reviewers, reserved. ISSN 1082-1872 Lil Lacy
send Dr. Pita a brief sample of your writing No part of this publication may be repro- Julia Mortyakova
plus your areas of specialization. duced or transmitted in any form or by any Nicole Murphy
For detailed information, contact Review means without permission. Any author has Deborah Nemko
the right to republish his or her article in Julia Palmer
Editor Laura Pita at laurapita830@gmail.
whole or in part with permission from the Jane Rigler
com
IAWM. Please contact the editor. Natalia Rojcovscaia
Angela Slater
The Journal of the IAWM is printed by Sarah Westwood
Cheetah Graphics, Sevierville, TN. Kathryn Woodward
Message from the IAWM s ice resident eflections and everberations
of a ong Winter and a esounding pring
ear IAWM Members, the creation of music and sound, the writ- permanence, a solace when everything has
I hope you are safe and well. We are so ing about music and sound, and the cel- been very, very impermanent. Accept that
grateful to have you as a part of the IAWM ebration of music and sound be renewed nature invites you to this renewal.
community. his last year has been incred- this spring As I write, the dainty uips of IAWM Conference (June 2022)
ibly tough for our members and for all mu- the regon chickadees permeate the air. o, as we take a deep breath, keep
sicians, artists, and performers of all kinds It is now spring in the Willamette alley in mind that June is the target month for
who rely on the gig economy. where I live in regon. It is rich with vi- our IAWM onference. lease stay
ver this last year, IAWM resident brant sounds and a plume of acoustic sig- tuned and look for a post on the IAWM
hristina usnak, IAWM oard Members, natures. It is teeming with new life, and website and on our social media later this
and I have been working to transform, grow, new growth. his is something we can col- summer for specific details and calls for
and develop more meaningful opportunities lectively count on nature, and its cyclic participation.
and a more sustainable, inclusive organi a- seasons and sounds. It is our hope to host the main ele-
tion to better serve you. It is a wonderful he woodpecker percussively pecking ments of the conference at regon tate
and humbling e perience to be working through our cedar siding to get at ants or niversity ampus in orvallis, regon
alongside resident usnak and the IAWM larvae, and to build a nest, blue ays, the as well as offer satellite activities in at
oard, and an honor to be a member of this crows looking to nest, and swallows, and least two or three other locations around
group of talented, committed, and compas- frogs they all seem so much more ubi- the globe. We are aware that resources
sionate members, all helping to build some- lant and excited. It is wonderful to hear the will be very tight for several years, and we
thing better for women in music. animals, the wind, the bird calls, and the want to make it easy for more members to
As the vaccine becomes more avail- rain. ike music, nature offers her song to be able to participate. I certainly hope that
able to everyone, I hope that we are able to heal and transcend. ake time to listen this in the not-too-distant future I get to meet
collectively heal. I believe that our shared spring. you in person, hopefully doing something
passion for and gifts and talents in music very day, I look for the new buds we all en oy and that is listening, mak-
can help foster regrowth and rebuilding, sparking on the tree branches, and see them ing, and participating in the sound and dis-
and help create a better collective e peri- peek out from hiding. he cherry blossoms cussion of women in music.
ence for all inhabitants of earth. are coming along in our neighborhood, and hank you for being a part of the
they were flying around like snowflakes IAWM community.
Spring Sounds in the wind yesterday. urning to nature,
ow will your love of music and and her sounds, provides renewal. ature incerely,
sound, the practice of music and sound, has been adapting. ature has a seasonal Dana Reason
ew IAWM ournal eview ditor, aura ita
he IAWM ournal is pleased to welcome the new eview ditor, aura ita h. ., niversity of entucky . If you have a
recent book or that you would like to have reviewed in the ournal, please contact her at laurapita gmail.com. We wish to
thank imberly reene for her outstanding work. he has served as eview ditor for several years and is now stepping down.
lease note If you submitted a book or to imberly, and it has not been reviewed in the ournal, please contact me at
evemeyer gmail.com or aura.
If you wish to be on the list of reviewers, please contact aura.
aura ita, musicologist, originally from aracas, ene uela and presently based in olumbia, Missouri, earned a h. . from the
niversity of entucky. er research has focused on women and music in th century atin America, specifically in the areas of
salon music and piano virtuosity. he has presented papers at the American Musicological ociety, ociety for American Music,
International Musicological ociety, and various conferences in atin America. he is co editor of the piano and chamber works
of the ene uelan pianist composer eresa arre o niversidad entral de ene uela, ayambis, , and she has pub-
lished several studies of her, including o Mac owell, o arre o eresa arre o s ontributions to the issemination of d-
ward Mac owell s iano Music, in “Very Good for an American:” Essays on Edward MacDowell, ed. by . ouglas omberger
endragon, and eresa arre o s oncerts in aracas in onstructions of ender, irtuosity and atriotism, Escena
niversidad de osta ica, .
he has also contributed articles for The Grove Dictionary of American Music ford, and the Enciclopedia de la música
en Venezuela igott, . he has taught at the chool of ine Arts of niversidad entral de ene uela aracas , chool of
Music of the niversity of entucky, and in the fall, she will start teaching at the chool of anguages, iteratures and ultures of
the niversity of Missouri. ve . Meyer, ditor in hief
Reason, Message from IAWM’s Vice President 1
A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
In this issue, we are pleased to honor two IAWM members who are celebrating their 75th birthdays this year: Tsippi Fleischer
and Anna Rubin. Both are distinguished composers who have been members of the IAWM since it was founded. We are also com-
memorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the noted composer and performer Pauline Viardot.
East Meets West in the Music of Tsippi Fleischer
EVE R. MEYER
Tsippi Fleischer is one of Israel’s leading ar who has researched Hebrew traditional ERM: When did you first become inter-
and most innovative composers, and her songs and how they provide information ested in Semitic languages, and what in-
music is performed worldwide. Her more on the history of her people. She has writ- trigues you about them?
than 100 compositions, which include sev- ten articles and a book in Hebrew on the TSF: I first became interested in the Ara-
en symphonies, operas, numerous choral topic: Hebrew Folksongs: Its Historical bic language at the age of ten, when I be-
and solo vocal works, and chamber music, Development (1964/2009). She has contin- gan studying it at school, and my interest
reflect the music, cultures, religions, and ued to research this topic, and she plans to expanded to include Arabic literature and
languages of the Middle East and bridge update the book. Hebrew philology in addition to Middle
the gap between East and West. Through- In her two-volume textbook, The Har- Eastern history during my undergradu-
out her career, Tsippi has used her music to monization of Songs (2005), she explains ate studies in the 1960s at Tel Aviv Uni-
express her desire for the peaceful coexis- her new method of musical analysis, which versity. I continued at the university for a
tence of all the people of the Middle East: provides examples of how to harmonize master’s degree in Semitic Linguistics. I
Muslims, Christians, and Jews. and arrange popular songs and folksongs find the sounds and colors of the languages
Her compositions have gained inter- for performance by choral and instrumen- tremendously exciting due to their phonet-
national fame, and she has won numerous tal groups. The book provides an alterna- ics. Arabic is a beautiful, poetic language
awards, including the ACUM Prize (Israel tive to the traditional method of studying that has preserved the qualities of its an-
Composers and Publishers) for her life’s harmony. It focuses on using musical ma- cestral Proto-Semitic language, with all
work; the Prime Minister’s Prize on the terials such as songs that the students know of its original guttural sounds. Musically,
occasion of Israel’s 50th anniversary; the and love in addition to Israeli and classical what interests me most are the micro-tonal
UNESCO-Paris (Rostrum) Prize for Com- music. The Israeli school system uses the riches of the modes, as well as the rhyth-
position; the Brahms Gesellschaft (Germa- text as well as many Israeli professional mic aspects on the one hand and the cul-
ny); the Canadian Electro-Acoustic Com- musicians. tural world engulfed in these sounds on the
munity; and awards and prizes from the As part of her birthday celebrations, I other hand.
governments of Finland and the United interviewed her this past winter. I love Hebrew, my native language,
States. She has been interviewed interna- Eve R Meyer: What are the most signifi- and I use it in my work as well as in my
tionally, and many articles have been writ- cant influences on your music? daily life, sometimes quoting biblical vers-
ten about her works. Her music has been es taught at primary schools. I am also fas-
recorded by companies such as Vienna Tsippi Fleischer: The foremost influ-
ences on my music are the literary texts cinated with ancient languages such as Ak-
Modern Masters, Opus One, and Autos- kadian, a long-dead, percussive-sounding
Koch-Schwann. Performances, recordings, and content I have drawn from my Israe-
li birthplace, both in quantity and depth. Semitic language, last spoken in the region
and videos of her music have been widely of Iraq in the fourth century BCE. I used
reviewed, including one in the first volume The basis of the traditional Western mu-
sical education I received was enveloped this language in my recent grand-opera
of the Journal of the IAWM in which the re- Adapa. In his review of the recording of
viewer describes her music as “a synthesis in the world of sounds and languages of
the Middle East. In my compositions, I in- this work, Robert Black commented that
of Eastern and Western musical languag- my choice of the Akkadian language, with
es by a skilled and imaginative composer tegrate the sounds of the languages with
contemporary and unusual harmonic and its percussive nature, “amplifies the mys-
steeped in the multiple cultures of the Mid- terious, primeval quality of the music and
dle East but also highly trained in contem- rhythmic constructs. I am also inspired by
my love of the Middle East, its history as fantastical action of the story.”2
porary Western musical idioms.”1
Tsippi has received recognition as an a cradle of cultures and its landscape, es- ERM: You not only mastered the Arabic
educator who has taught at major universi- pecially the desert. Whenever I travel into language but also studied and used the
ties in Israel and has lectured in Germany, the desert, I feel my lungs expanding as I music of the Arab people in works such
Japan, and the United States; many of her breathe the air beneath the desert skies and as your well-known symphonic poem A
students have become well known profes- the rays of the burning sun. I also love the Girl Named Limonad, which is frequent-
sional musicians. She is particularly not- seashore near my home in Haifa. In my re- ly performed, including several times in
ed for her educational work in develop- cent opera, Adapa, both the desolation and the USA. How did you learn so much
ing projects that bring students of different the barren wilderness of the desert and the about Arabic music?
ethnic backgrounds together. In addition to sea serve as the locals; the depth of the sea TSF: To learn the style of Arab melodies,
her accomplishments as a composer and conceals many secrets. The entire Middle I did field work and spent six months in a
educator, Tsippi is a distinguished schol- East is my inspiration. Druze village, where I met with local mu-
2 IAWM Journal Volume 27, No. 1 2021
sicians. or other compositions, I worked he work was the recipient of the stone tablet in the city s optic museum.
with edouins and spent time in gypt. A M pri e, which is considered such a he opts in gypt today are a hristian
ERM: Some of your works in Ara- great honor in Israel that I was given the minority, and they are oppressed and hated
bic have won prizes, such as Like Two opportunity to meet with oreign Minis- for their religion, but they have a high edu-
Branches (1989), winner of the coveted ter (and future Prime Minister and Presi- cational and cultural level as well as mate-
ACUM Prize. Is the work also based on dent) Shimon Peres. I was delighted when rial success. raditionally, the opts have
Arabic music, and does it use Arabic in- I read the udges comment about my mu- always strongly identified with the nar-
struments? Why do you consider this sic A masterly e ample of contrasting el- rative of the survival of aniel, a ewish
piece a breakthrough in your career? ements astern and Western, archaic and minister in the ersian kingdom of arius.
innovative in several parameters te ture,
TSF: Like Two Branches is a cantata in Ara- rhythm, dynamics, timbres, sonorous mu-
bic with a te t by the si th century edouin sical aspects of the te t.
poetess Al hansa, in which she mourns
the death of her brother in a tribal duel. he ERM: The plots of many of your operas
work marks a ma or breakthrough in my and other vocal works are based on sto-
style because it captures the e otic Middle ries from the Old Testament and my-
astern flavor through its harmonic lan- thology. What are some examples, and
guage, which makes use of octave, fourth, what attracted you to select them?
Fig. 1. Tsippi Fleischer meeting with
and fifth doubling, and through its melodic TSF: My chamber opera Cain and Abel, a t ffa a
lines. I composed original music in a con- op. premiered in Israel in and in future Prime Minister Shimon Peres
temporary Western style with melodies that urope in is a good e ample of a to celebrate her ACUM Award (1994).
are based on the i a Arabic ma am a tra- biblical work. What particularly attracted I spent time in airo, where I met with
ditional Arabic mode , which I varied and my attention was the inscrutable way od members of the optic community, studied
elaborated. ee ample . chose Abel s sacrifice, which has been in- their music, went to church services, and
he score demands a virtuosic chamber terpreted in many different ways in uda- visited monasteries. I was truly inspired by
choir plus a mi ed ensemble of Western and ism. In my version, the plot takes place in the music of the opts, especially its style,
Middle astern instruments kanun and tar an ancient land at the dawn of time and which is similar to medieval organum. he
drums . he vocal style ranges from chant starts with an idyllic pastoral picture of the vocal lines are accompanied by a string
like melismas to comple choral polyphony. two brothers and their two lambs. oth uintet, and the work makes e tensive use
I made e tensive use of word painting for lambs are sacrificed and go up to heaven, of dissonance. he ideo Art was world
e ample, the drowning horses are depicted but only Abel s lamb stays there, meaning premiered on a special occasion: a gala
by a vocal glissando, and the fall of the ripe that it was accepted by od and it died. event organi ed by the Israeli Ministry of
fruit by descending whole tones. ain is ealous because of od s choice, oreign Affairs to mark the peace treaty
and he kills Abel. As a mur- between Israel and ordan. epresentatives
derer, he loses contact with from gypt and ordan, as well as Israel,
his lamb, and he will wander were present.4
the earth, knowing no rest In some of my works, such as the mul-
until the end of time.3 timedia-operatic scene The Goddess Anath
In the two premiere pro- , I am drawn to the concept of female
ductions, the work was in- power. Anath is the mythical virgin anaan-
terpreted in two e tremely ite warrior goddess of sacrifice. he loves
different ways onstage. he battles, has a violent temper, and takes plea-
Israeli production was filled sure in killing. er story dates back to the
with colorful rituals and th century , and she personifies the
movements including danc- ancient world and its images of cruelty. he
ing, while the iennese pro- music is appropriately dissonant.5
duction featured eroticism eminism, which has to do with inner
and pale colors to symboli e spiritual strength, is an important aspect in
a world that was becoming a number of my works. I feel a special rela-
murkier and murkier. tionship with the Medea myth, and I com-
Another example is the posed a chamber opera in nglish about
Video Art Daniel in the Den her premiered in Israel in and in u-
of Lions (1995) after the rope in . he myth was the sub ect of
biblical story, which I set in a renowned play by uripides about ason
optic, a emitic language and his wife, Medea, whom he abandons.
spoken by ancient hristians Medea takes vengeance by murdering the
in gypt. uring one of my new wife and her own two sons. here
Ex. 1. Tsippi Fleischer, Like Two Branches, ourneys to airo in the ear- are several interpretations of the myth. In
mm. 60-63 (1989) ly s, I came upon a lime-
Meyer, East Meets West in the Music of Tsippi Fleischer 3
my opera, Medea – a New Version of the ERM: Another one of your most impor-
Myth, op. , I turn to the myth in its vari- tant works is your Oratorio 1942-1992.
ant, which suggests that the children were What is the significance of the dates, and
killed by the orinthians who framed her what events does the oratorio cover?
for murder. he opera is scored for one TSF: he oratorio, which I composed in
singer, Medea, who also sings the part of to commemorate the th anniver-
ason, and four instrumentalists who also sary of the e pulsion of the ews from
serve as actors.6 pain, presents a brief history of the ew-
he opera has an interesting history. In Ex. 2a. Tsippi Fleischer, Girl Butterfly ish people over a year period, begin-
, it received a new production by the Girl, Song No. 1, mm. 50-52. Arabic ning with the Golden Age of the Jews in
ologne pera ompany. irector we version (1977) pain, followed by the trauma of their e -
ergenr der presented Medea as a desper- pulsion and their subse uent wanderings,
ate, homeless person in a caravan of refu- and finally, their fulfillment as a nation in
gees, who, at the end, commits suicide as Israel. In pain, in the th century, three
she throws a grenade at the audience. At faiths udaism, Islam, and hristian-
that time, female suicide bombers were ac- ity coe isted in harmony. he oratorio
tive in Israel. uses three languages ebrew, Arabic, and
I maintained my interest in the myth panish, and the te t is taken mainly from
after writing the opera. In , I complet- medieval ebrew poetry. he melodic ma-
ed my doctoral dissertation ar Ilan ni- terial has its roots in folk music, starting
versity on uigi herubini s late th with melodies based on ancient panish
century operatic setting titled Médée. hristian church music. he shock of e -
Ex. 2b. Girl Butterfly Girl, Hebrew
ERM: Which of your many works would version (1977) pulsion is reflected in aggressive orches-
you say is most important? tral music and its use of uarter tones and a
ince writing the original songs, I have
TSF: My song cycle, Girl Butterfly Girl, high volume, siren like sound to simulate
continued to make different arrangements
which is also my most fre uently per- a scream. Jewish liturgical chants from the
according to performers re uests, such as
formed composition. It is both an early and places where the ews traveled when they
a version in ebrew with a chamber group
a late work the original work still seems were e pelled are used ne t, and the work
accompaniment, one in Arabic with a sym-
very fresh and vital today. It is my first concludes with a hymn that symboli es
phony orchestra , and one that
work in Arabic, and it dates back to , the return of the ews to ion.
uses Renaissance instruments. I prepared
when I started concentrating on vocal mu- versions in nglish, erman, rench, and ERM: What is your role during rehears-
sic. he song cycle is based on four poems panish. he erusalem ymphony per- als for recordings and productions? Do
by th century ebanese and yrian po- formed, recorded, and videoed songs and you coach the singers in pronouncing
ets. I combined the poems into one contin- , and the Attar rio piano, violin, the text in Semitic languages? Do you
uous story about a man who becomes more cello recorded two versions of the work, work with instrumentalists? Do you
and more despondent as he wanders in the one with a male ewish singer in ebrew conduct performances, or is your work
desert the final song, however, is about a and another with an Arabic female singer mainly pre-performance?
girl who dreams she is a butterfly, and it in Arabic. he pro ect is still ongoing with TSF: enerally, I am deeply involved in
has a brighter outlook. preparations for a video clip involving per- rehearsals preceding the recording and the
I prepared two versions of the poetry formers and sights of the Judea desert in world premiere production. I perceive this
one in ebrew with flute and piano accom- the southeast region of Israel. as the completion of the composing pro-
paniment, and the other in Arabic accom- he song cycle has been so popular cess. o me, the first rehearsal is similar to
panied by Arabic instruments. My personal that the Israel Music Institute produced an a premiere because I hear, for the first time,
preference is the setting in Arabic due to album in titled Girl Butterfly Girl: what occurred in my mind. his is an e -
the original te t. he melodic lines are in- A World Journey with different versions ceptionally interesting as well as emotion-
fluenced by the Arabic modes, and the te - of the songs as well as improvisations on al moment, and I m often surprised. ome-
ture is partially homophonic and partially them. he booklet accompanying the disc times I add important details or ad ust and
heterophonic. ach musician is free to or- presents a series of articles on the poets and sharpen my intentions, but I do not make
nament and embellish the melodic line. I the song cycle s history and performances.9 any fundamental changes.
assist the singers by including detailed pro- In , the song cycle inspired me rior to this stage, I fre uently work
nunciation instructions on the score. - to compose a new work entitled Girl But- with individual singers who need help with
ample a is from the Arabic version, and I terfly Girl – a New Flutter By for piano, a emitic language such as Akkadian or
added the Arabic script above the phonetic violin, cello, magnetic tape, and vocals in optic, and it is a well known fact from the
pronunciation. he final note in the anun ebrew, nglish, Arabic, and rench. he operatic genre that the singers should exag-
part is an e ample of my use of a uarter performers sing and speak, and they also gerate the pronunciation. I use the opportu-
tone from the Arabic scale. ample b move slightly according to my instructions nity to introduce performers to the cultural
makes use of chromaticism and doubling in the score. world from which the te t arose. My goal
in the piano part.
4 IAWM Journal Volume 27, No. 1 2021
is to achieve ma imum e pressivity in or- I reali ed that the work could be minute. While editing and reproducing the
der to convey the drama of the music to the turned into an educational pro ect for chil- score, I find myself undergoing a kind of
listeners. My work with the instrumental- dren in the Israeli schools at various age rebirth, a primal e perience of composi-
ists is similar. ee igure . levels. We had the materials the te t, tion. I treat every note meticulously and
the music, and a video, and we prepared to my great delight the process resem-
online kits for four age groups so that the bles recomposing, as I hear my own works
educators could guide the performance of like never before.
selected scenes, or dances, or the entire ERM: hank you. he IAWM is pleased
opera. he pro ect was a huge success, to oin you in celebrating your th birth-
and videos of the performances were made day
available. ow we are about to implement
them in institutions for music education in 1
Myrna achman, sippi leischer Art
the Arab sector in Israel preparations have
Music Setting of Arabic Poetry, Journal of the
already started. IAWM 1.2 (1995) : 42.
Another of my operas that is fre- 2
obert lack, sippi leischer Adapa,
uently performed in the schools is Alei Journal of the IAWM . .
Kinor, about ewish life in a small town 3
or additional information and analysis
Fig. 2. Rehearsal for a recording of Tsippi in astern urope. It is based on a story of the work, see ri olomb, ros, ealousy
Fleischer’s Symphony No. 4 in Tel Aviv, by holem Aleichem best known for Fid- and love a new interpretation in an ancient
2000. She is providing performance as- dler on the Roof about a child who loved guise for the myth of the first homicide in sip-
sistance to Yinon Muallem, who is holding pi leischer s opera ain and Abel Peimot,
music and ran away from school to oin a
a Persian mazhar, and Eyal Sela, who is ournal of Music and ulture, el Aviv niver-
a a t a a a - le mer group performing as street mu-
sity, August . he article is in
net. (Photo by Dina Guna) sicians. It was an early work that I com- ebrew, and it will soon be translated into ng-
posed in , and it combines elements lish.
Writing music for children is close to of ewish and rock music. After several 4
or details about Daniel in the Den of Li-
my heart, and working with a choir of chil- theatrical productions, it became a flour- ons, see the booklet in link, thnic il-
dren is an art in itself. I always take their ishing pro ect in primary schools. ee houettes pp. and the ideo Art itself.
vocal limitations into consideration, and igure . 5
or details about The Goddess Anath, see
the musical language is simpler than in my the booklet in the link thnic ilhou-
other works. ettes pp. and the link to the video of
the operatic scene.
As to public performances, I work 6
owards the world premiere of Medea
mainly with the premieres, where the in Israel was published in the book-
composer s mark is paramount. I also let with a oreword by Artistic irector Avi a-
make sure that the recording of the first nani.
performance is authoritative. I do not ink to the Medea video Israel roduc-
have the capability to conduct the perfor- tion , ologne pera roduction in-
mances. cluding details).
ink to the audio for the chamber and
ERM: You mentioned that you enjoy symphonic versions Innovated lassics,
writing for children. Are any of your chamber music version in ebrew, tracks
works educational? symphonic version in Arabic, tracks .
Fig. 3. A primary school production of 9
here are also other recordings and a va-
TSF: My opera Oasis for children Tsippi Fleischer’s Alei Kinor in Beer
Sheva, Israel, 2015. (Conductor, designer riety of performance versions. he Music e-
is one of my most important education- partment of the ational Israeli ibrary has
al pro ects. he story takes place in the and photographer: Yulia Balla)
most of the versions in its archival collections.
arid inai desert at the time of the o- ee Appendi , pp. , in the booklet
dus from gypt. wo ewish children are ERM: What are your current projects?
irl utterfly irl A World ourney, which
looking for water, and edouin children TSF: At present, I m revising two signifi- has the list of the tracks and the performers.
help them find an oasis. hey become cant chamber operas of mine from the past Eve R. Meyer (PhD, University of Pennsyl-
friends they dance together and are emo- Cain and Abel and Medea (19 9 5). vania) is editor in chief of the Journal of the
tional when they must part. he work pro- he scores, after their premieres over two IAWM. She is the author of numerous articles,
vides an important learning e perience decades ago in Israel and urope, were in book chapters, and three books on the music of
for the performers as well as the members a deplorable state. he Israel Music Insti- the 18th and 19th centuries. She is professor
of the audience. It was commissioned by tute IMI has already published Cain and emerita, former chair of the music history de-
the arlsruhe antus uventum hoir, Abel in ebrew and in nglish and will partment at Temple University, and recipient
of Temple University’s Great Teacher, Lind-
and the audience at the premiere in Ger- soon publish Medea in nglish and er-
back Foundation, and Distinguished Professor
many was very enthusiastic. It was origi- man . I reali ed the need to provide read- Awards.
nally written in erman, and it has since able versions. Although this may sound
been translated into ebrew and nglish. like a boring chore, I m en oying every
Meyer, East Meets West in the Music of Tsippi Fleischer 5
eflections on omposing
ANNA RUBIN
here are many threads that weave their my ideas when working on instrumental rights movement and the writings of ames
way through my interests and work the pieces. n many occasions, I have found aldwin, and I reali ed how segregated
primacy of voice, the music of speech, syn- that the first cluster of notes I play becomes both areas were.
esthesia of sound and form, ecstatic melis- the root of the harmonic structure. Into my teens, I continued to study pi-
matic melody, a roving palette of harmony When composing for the computer, I ano and immerse myself in the triumvirate
spanning a variety of tonalities, engage- first have to decide on my instruments. I of ach, eethoven, and ershwin, but I
ment with a variety of social ustice issues. begin e perimenting with a specific sound never considered that music could be my
And the key musical element te tural structure and generate multiple variations life work. My attitude towards composers
timbre often generated by a sonic metaphor of that sound s . Assembling this library was that it was a heavenly gift, only for the
or image: then allows me to proceed to the stage of rarest geniuses. I attended omona ollege
roken sobs of laughter, composition improvisation. in laremont, A, followed by years in
ilken shawls floating in gusts of t t the erkeley akland area. I had ma ored
wind, I would like to share some of the im- in sociology, which I originally thought
he heavy slide of amber honey, portant inflection points of my life and mu- would lead to a social work career. ut I
A theft of precious metal, ringing, sic without any attempt to be thorough. I ended up oining a uirky band of organi -
ringing will begin with the loneliness and isola- ers who started a high school group that
A wild bee swarm and the depthless tion I felt at around age ten. I was suffering focused on creating an innovative and so-
solidity of a black hole. from a mysterious cially relevant curriculum. I was involved
My musical imagination is grounded in a disease and went in various activist groups, including draft
kind of te tural synesthesia not of sound through a hospi- resisters, the lack anther reakfast pro-
and color but of sound and shape, te ture, tali ation and then gram, and the Welfare ights organi a-
energy, and space. I didn t always under- a long stretch out tion. I also participated in a women’s writ-
stand or trust this idiosyncratic approach to of school before ers group, which was intensely stimulating
composition, which fully emerged when I I was diagnosed and empowering in a way no college semi-
began working with electronic music. with rheumatoid nar ever had been. It was in that group that
Working Method arthritis. he e - I developed the skills of critical thinking.
ow nearly age seventy five, it took perience intensi- uring this time, I continued piano
me some years to trust my musical imag- fied my preoccu- lessons and was especially inspired by
ination and discover my own method of pation with my my teacher, arbara awson erkeley ,
working. As a young composer, I was inner fantasy life. a woman who had deliberately built up
cowed by two assumptions. he first was I continue to be an integrated clientele of piano students.
the so called inevitability theory that the
Anna Rubin
surprised at how I played in a erkeley contemporary
final form of a masterwork was the only many artists had a similar childhood e pe- ensemble and discovered e tended piano
way it could possibly be, which led me to rience that forced them to develop the habit techni ues with wonder and delight.
doubt my choices. ad I truly found the in- of introspection and imagination. I heard about alArts, an unusual
evitable note rhythm chord he second ortunately, my mother filled the school of the arts outside of os Angeles,
debilitating emphasis for me was that any house with the sounds of her favorite mu- where the famous feminist artist, udy
worthy composition had to be constructed sic classical, a , and folk. I had begun hicago, taught. I assumed that the music
according to a pre fabricated model as de- playing piano at age seven and loved the department would be e ually as feminist
tailed as an architect s blueprint. classical music I was taught as well as the oriented as the visual arts department, and
he working method that has evolved Jewish music I was surrounded with in the I enrolled to complete a second A degree
for me is that, whether working instrumen- synagogue and in my home. My ewish in music. o my surprise, there were few
tally or electronically, I begin with a vac- identity was and is intrinsic to my identi- full time women instructors, and no one
uum which attracts a te tural image here, ty, and being a part of a minority prompt- discussed women composers in seminars
an energy uality there, a scalar fragment, ed my intense and lifelong curiosity about or even in guest lectures. he faculty of the
and often a social issue. And once there are cultural and political power. I continue to music department was mostly a collection
enough of these evocative components, be fascinated with how ewish music has of brilliant, if not always effective, male in-
I can begin. hen the dance proceeds in influenced not only my approach to com- structors who focused almost e clusively on
which I alternate between overall consider- position but its effect on perception. Mu- contemporary music. I had classes with im
ations and the composition of specific pas- sicologist udit rigesi has written pow- enney, Mort ubotnick, ucky Moskow
sages. When I reach a point where I have erfully about how ewish children are, in and a host of international composers and
internali ed the piece s logic, I can slowly effect, prepared for dealing with anti em- performers, but most vital were my stud-
improvise that would be auline liveros itism and a history of genocide by ewish ies with Mel owell, whom I think of as the
definition of composition. he piano has music.1 When we moved from the Midwest Mo art of the twelve tone school. In three
been such an important tool for developing to Ari ona, I began to be aware of the civil hour weekly private lessons and later at al
6 IAWM Journal Volume 27, No. 1 2021Arts, he imparted a practical and effective
grasp of form, clima , and continuity and
what he called energistic typologies. is
holistic approach to composition was the
right thing for me at the right moment. ne
of the first pieces I worked on with Mel
was Songs to Death, settings of ylvia
lath poems in which I benefitted from his
guidance. ee ample . ne of the only
women on the faculty was omanian con- Ex. 1. Anna Rubin. Excerpt from “Ariel” in Songs to Death (1974, rev. 2010)
ductor educator Marta he o, whose aton- of it, and then shape and form them into a Music enter, and writing program notes
al musicianship classes were masterful and coherent work. for he roup for ontemporary Music.
original, and I uickly began to compose in It was during a side trip to the Darm- My compositions in the s had been
an atonal language that was very satisfying stadt erienkurse summer course in er- mainly chamber and electronic music, but
largely skipping tonal harmony. many in that I met composer io- I decided to e periment and took a foray
Meanwhile, I was teaching piano in leta Dinescu. Darmstadt was a must for into orchestral writing with the composi-
os Angeles and helped start the Indepen- young composers in the s. ioleta had tion of Freedom: Sweet and Bitter for or-
dent omposers Association, a compos- ust left ommunist controlled omania, chestra and fi ed media. he title derives
er collective that included ois ierk and ostensibly to attend the armstadt esti- from the comple liberation of omania
usan almer in recent years, a noted en val but with the intention to defect to er- from ommunist rule after the overthrow
teacher . I met and worked with many other many. er determination and fearlessness of the dictator, icolae eau escu, and I
active women performers and musicians in were stunning. oth her a nity for her dedicated this piece to Violeta Dinescu.
the late s and early s including ancy omanian folk tradition and her original My e periment was very successful, and
ierro, eon rice, and eannie oole and approach towards counterpoint resonated the work won the ational rchestral As-
on the popular side of music, ue ink and deeply with me, and I learned a tremen- sociation award in .
her A Women s hoir. I oined the Interna- dous amount from her. While in Amster- he year marked an important
tional eague of Women in Music I WM dam, I became engaged with Ale aley s change in my career beginning with my
and attended a spirited conference in New book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, meeting with harles odge at the rook-
ork hosted by the International ongress and ames aldwin s adaptation for the lyn ollege enter for omputer Mu-
of Women in Music. atherine oma and screen. As a result, I composed De Nacht; sic. e had a welcoming attitude towards
I connected during that time, and she com- Lament for Malcolm X for the Dutch Delta anyone interested in computer music and
missioned me to write a women’s choral nsemble, which won their new ensemble made his classes and studios open to a va-
piece, Sappho, for her choir Anna rusis, award in . riety of composers in the ew ork region.
the first feminist choir in the . While I was in urope, I learned about harles introduced me to the ound syn-
I was intensely curious about electron- the German tradition of Hörspiel (radio thesis program, and I began studying with
ic music and had not had the time explore play , and I was fascinated by the combi- him and his assistant, urtis ahn. he
the possibilities while at alArts. I decid- nation of narrative and sound. After I re- center was then a really collaborative space
ed to travel to Amsterdam in because turned to the and settled in ew ork, I with one main room with several comput-
of the nearby Institute for onology in had the opportunity develop my own Hör- ers and one sound system. We would take
trecht. I attended a course there but more spiel. I met elen horington and egina turns processing our sounds and listening
important was the access I gained to a mar- eyer of ew American adio and won to what others were doing.
velous studio at the weelinck onserva- a oint commission from A and adio While I was in residence at rooklyn
torium. here I found a track recorder, station W to create a sound collage on ollege, I created Stolen Gold rev.
which for me was like finding the key to obert Moses, an innovative urban plan- for amplified baro ue oboe, modern
the nigma ode. With this massive piece ner who reshaped the
of technology, I could easily uilt together physical environment
multiple layers of sound along with four of ew ork ity. I
track recorders and a host of other analog developed a second
modules, and I could e plore te ture and pro ect with elen as
timbre in a way that was at once fresh and well with a specula-
so comfortable for me. tive science fiction
My first electronic piece was Cry- te t about a future
ing the Laughing and Golden in which I apocalypse.
processed a woman s laughter in a variety etween
of ways. earning the studio as I created and , I support-
the piece, I happened upon the instinctual ed myself by teaching
method I have continued to use develop piano, editing publica-
a primal sound, make countless variations tions at the American Ex. 2. Anna Rubin. Excerpt from Stolen Gold, violin version
t 7oboe, violin, and fi ed media the work e - ice. he pro ect culminated in a oyous me about a commission, I decided to inter-
ists in three versions. he original version multi-generational dance performance. At view a family of local beekeepers as well
for baro ue oboe was done in collaboration M , I also had the pleasure of teach- as scientists at the nearby epartment
with eborah agy. er virtuosity with ing and collaborating with inda usman, of Agriculture facility. The Beekeepers for
the keyless instrument allowed me to com- isa ella, Airi oshioka, om oldstein, amplified cello and fi ed media, is a piece
pose long glissandi, which are e tremely and others. she has championed for several years. ee
di cult on the modern keyed instrument. ince my early years, I have been an ample .
atricia Moorhead asked for a version for active member of a number of musical and I then began to turn to the piano, my
modern oboe, and violinist Airi oshio- non musical organi ations, including one first instrument, but for which I had written
ka later asked for a version for violin. In of the parent groups of IAWM, the Interna- very little solo music. ianist Margaret u-
all cases, the live instrument is amplified. tional eague of Women omposers, and cia asked me for a piece, and I composed a
louds of pointillistic sound contrast with when IAWM formed, I oined the board four part suite, For the Love of Bees. While
drone and glissandi, acting as a counterpart and later served as president . writing this piece, I discovered a way to
to a highly decorated melodic part in the I have always found the conferences and approach the piano that focused on texture
solo instrument. he piece has been per- publications to be powerful and have ap- and timbre. ee ample .
formed throughout the by a variety of preciated the opportunities all the groups And then in , andrine rdely
performers. ee ample . provided me and other women to network ayo, a brilliant pianist and director of the
Another one of my ma or works from and learn from each other. iano on the ocks estival in edona, Ar-
the s was Landmine. In , the in- Around , my attention began to i ona, invited me to be a guest composer at
ternational treaty to ban anti personnel turn towards the environment and bees, af- the festival. he fre uently features pieces
landmines was attracting a great deal of ter reading about the olony ollapse is- with spoken word so I added te t to each
attention. hrough contacts, I connected order . I began a collaboration with section of For the Love of Bees. After the
with a landmine activist who had worked cellist Madeleine hapiro, whose long- success of that work, we began planning
on the issue in ambodia. I originally time environmental concerns motivated more pro ects. he festival commissioned
wrote the work for flute and fi ed media her to commission many works on envi- me to write a piece on black holes, Pow-
for a anadian flutist with whom I collab- ronmental themes. When she approached ehi, for the spring festival, which of
orated. ater, Abby onant, whom many
readers may know for her brilliant perfor-
mance and feminist agitation, performed
a version for trombone on her e tensive
tour, and cellist eff rieger has per-
formed it widely.
I decided late in 19 9 3 to return to col-
lege to get my doctorate because univer-
sity positions were otherwise out of reach.
I was accepted at rinceton, and in ,
I received an offer of a position teaching
composition and electronic music at ber-
lin ollege. I had been warned in advance
that I could run into trouble with a long-
time faculty chair of the composition de-
partment who had a ruthless reputation for
getting new faculty members terminated.
And, indeed, I did run afoul of him and the
tenure process, but I was fortunate to then
get a position at the niversity of Mary-
land, altimore ounty M . or
some years, I directed the inehan Artist
cholars rogram, a special program for
talented students across the arts. ne of
most interesting pro ects I did there was a
collaboration with the i erman ance
ompany, harlestown etirement om-
munity, M gerontologists, and M
inehan students. he pro ect included
wonderful conversations between students
and harlestown residents and seminars
on aging with sociologist r. aroline Ex. 3. Anna Rubin. Excerpt from The Beekeepers a a a
8 IAWM Journal Volume 27, No. 1 2021course had to be delayed until . In the mean-
time, we applied for funding for a piece for sopra-
no, me o, piano, and electronics on the sub ect
of women migrants. In the last four years, I have
become very involved in immigration issues, both
locally and nationally. I was able to interview two
women with very different stories one woman
from Me ico who was brought to the as a child
and a woman from onduras fleeing persecution
and assault. I created a libretto based on their sto-
ries. It has been incredibly satisfying to bring to-
gether my artistic and current activist interests.
ver the years, I have also taken great inter-
est in working with non standard Western instru-
ments such as the baro ue oboe and viola da gamba
and Asian instruments, including the oud and heng.
In the last fifteen years, I have been rediscovering
chromatic tonality, which I incorporate into a fle -
ible approach to harmonic structure spanning mod-
al, tonal, idiosyncratic, and atonal note collections. I
think this fle ibility, which many composers share,
is very liberating and allows one to match the har-
monic palate to the sub ect.
urrent pro ects include upcoming s of the
bee and black hole pieces and continuing my pro -
ect of interviewing women migrants. I feel grate-
ful to have escaped contracting I and to have
had compositions to focus on in the last year. Mu-
sic, as always, has been a refuge, a solace, a gift
which invariably lifts me into a state of flow and of
gratitude.
1
his is, of course, true of all groups, especially mi-
norities whose cultures create profound musical and artis-
tic archetypes of resistance and beauty. hese A deep
Ex. 4. Anna Rubin. Excerpt from “Las abelhas assessinas” cultural structures, such as gospel music and the music of
in For the Love of Bees the oma, are literally life giving and life saving.
auline iardot arc a ommemorating the th Anniversary of er irth
DAVID OTERO ARAGONESES
his year we are commemorating the th sistance to several of the composers. er , , in aris came from a highly re-
anniversary of the birth of the great pan- music salons helped them to launch their spected and well known musical dynasty
ish singer, composer, and teacher, auline careers. Many of the composers wrote mu- in the opera world. er panish parents,
Viardot-Garcí a. She was one of the most sic for her or dedicated works to her for Manuel arc a and oa uina itches ar-
influential musical personalities of the o- e ample, she sang in the premiere perfor- c a, gained prestige as singers in the ma or
mantic ra, and her salons, wherever she mance of rahms Alto Rhapsody, which uropean opera houses, and he was also a
lived, whether in rance, ermany, ng- he dedicated to her. prominent voice teacher who trained many
land, or ussia, served as a melting pot of She maintained friendships with per- of the most accomplished singers of his era
uropean arts and culture. With her wide formers, especially the elgian violin- plus all of his e ceptionally talented chil-
circle of friends, she had close relation- ist harles de riot, the second husband dren. Manuel was a successful entrepreneur
ships with many of the ma or compos- of her sister, the famous opera star, Mar a who formed a family opera company, which
ers of the time, such as erlio , rahms, Malibr n, and with outstanding literary fig- included his children. he arc as were
hopin, aur , ounod, is t, Massenet, ures such as Ivan urgenev, harles ick- among the first uropeans singers to tour
Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, aint a ns, ens, eorge and, ustave laubert, mile Me ico and the nited tates .
and both obert and lara chumann, an ola, and ictor ugo plus painters such auline was a child prodigy in diverse
intimate friend with whom she performed as ug ne elacroi . fields. he was skilled in drawing portraits,
piano duos. iardot was a very kind person auline Michelle erdinande arc a and she learned languages with surprising
and graciously provided guidance and as- born uly , in aris, and died May ease she was fluent in panish, rench,
Otero Aragoneses, Pauline Viardot-Garcia: Commemorating the 200th Anniversity of Her Birth 9You can also read
