The musicologist Charles Rosen describes nineteenth-century women composers as ‘a real tragedy’. The musical institutions of the time were either simply off-limits to them, or extremely difficult to access. And even when one of them did manage to have a work heard or published, the critics did not avoid any misogynistic clichés. Even the opening of a women's composition class at the Paris Conservatoire in 1870 did not fundamentally change the situation: in 1892, Antonín Dvorák still believed that women had no creative power. It was only gradually that mores changed and this belief became untenable. Witness the many women composers who, despite the social, psychological and material obstacles to their creativity, wrote, sometimes without being able to have the pieces they gave birth to performed. They paved the way for today's female composers who shine on international stages.*

Join us at Les Créatives** for an original concert featuring works by women composers from the 20th century to the present day, conducted by the OSR's new assistant conductor Zofia Kiniorska, alongside saxophonist Valentine Michaud, in residence this season. 

The concert will open with two works by Sandrine Rudaz: musical interpretations of life, illustrating both its difficulties and its infinite possibilities. A film composer from the Valais, Sandrine Rudaz has won numerous awards and recorded her scores with the best musicians in renowned studios, including the historic Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Also on the programme are works by Mel Bonis, Augusta Holmès and Cécile Chaminade, the great French composers of the early 20th century. The concert closes on a high note with the Swiss premiere of Glasslands, a concerto for saxophone and orchestra by Anna Clyne, performed by Valentine Michaud. One of the most sought-after composers, Anna Clyne has been described as "a composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods", in the words of the New York Times. 

* Text by HorsPortée

**The Festival Les Créatives is a multidisciplinary event highlighting the artistic and intellectual output of women and gender minorities.