A concert of ‘note’-able female composers

The Motueka Music Group in partnership with the NZTrio (He Taonga Wairere) is bringing another outstanding performance, Triptych3 - Untamed Hope, to the Motueka Chanel Arts Centre this month.

The trio brings together three incredibly accomplished artists - Amalia Hall (violin), Ashley Brown (cello) and Somi Kim (piano), renowned for their eclectic repertoire, outstanding talent and warm, kiwi stage presence.

The NZTrio will present a concert of all female composers with pieces chosen from across three centuries.

The Mendelssohn was composed by Felix’s older sister Fanny. Acknowledged as having ‘prodigious musical ability’ she composed more than 125 pieces for piano and over 250 songs. Because of the mores that existed in the early 19th century, six of her songs were published under her brother Felix’s name.

The programme will bring the Trio in D minor which is driven by exquisite piano playing, the violin and cello adding the drama that hooks you in. Fanny composed this piece for her sister’s birthday.

Their second piece, Trio Cavany, was written by Joan Tower, an accomplished American composer, who The New Yorker claims is ‘one of the most successful woman composers of all time’.

In this piece each instrument seems to have their say and then they combine elegantly for group conversation - it is quite dramatic and crisp in delivery.

The NZTrio are supporting a Kiwi composer, Eva Beddgood, and will be bringing a new commission of hers they describe as  ‘offering a fresh perspective and intrinsically relevant voice’.  

Eva is a trumpeter, pianist, and composer who has studied at the University of Canterbury and Te Kōkī NZ School of Music. She is currently completing a Masters at the prestigious Melbourne Conservatoire of Music.

The final piece comes from Dame Eva Smyth, another 19th century composer from England, the first female composer granted a Damehood.

While, she too, incurred the social conventions of the time, struggling to publish as a woman, she composed an extensive body of work and the NZTrio will play another Trio in D Minor, complex and satisfying, a real treat for chamber music lovers.

The concert is on at the Motueka Chanel Arts Centre on Thursday 11 October at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available from Motueka Floral Studio on High St, Motueka (cash only). Door sales will also be available - cash only/NO EFTPOS. Adults $25, school children $5.