Fortissima - Cellist Raphaela Gromes releases a double album full of premiere recordings of music by repressed female composer icons The new double album "Fortissima" by cellist Raphaela Gromes with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under the direction of Anna Rakitina and with Julian Riem on piano is a captivating collection of many first recordings. It includes works by almost forgotten female composers, whose impressive life stories can be read in Raphaela Gromes' book (jpc 12242789), which is being published by Goldmann Verlag at the same time. "Fortissima" is an inspiring musical document of strong female personalities who tried to realize their dreams under adverse circumstances and did not let socially prescribed roles get them down. "Fortissima is about role models, for all people, but especially for young women," states Raphaela Gromes. "The stories of these female artists are about personal integrity, the desire for freedom and literally unbridled creativity. It's not just about outstanding music, but deeply inspiring personalities." Raphaela Gromes has been researching the music of female composers for over five years. Her successful album "Femmes" from 2023 is a result of this work. Raphaela Gromes explains: "In my education and career, I hardly came into contact with the music of female composers, yet there is so much great music to discover. There is also a lack of female identification figures in this respect. It's important to me to change that." The first half of the double album is dedicated to compositions for cello and piano by Henriëtte Bosmans, Victoria Yagling, Emilie Mayer, Mélanie Bonis, Luise Adolpha Le Beau - supplemented by an arrangement of "All I Ask" by Adele. The second half contains the cello concertos by Maria Herz and Marie Jaëll, a ballad for cello and orchestra by Elisabeth Kuyper, a new orchestral composition by Rebecca Dale composed especially for the album and an orchestral arrangement of the track "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" by P!NK. Three first editions of sheet music were also created in the course of the album production: Henriëtte Bosman's Cello Sonata is published by the renowned Henle Verlag. Marie Jaëll's cello concerto, supplemented by a newly discovered second movement recorded for the first time for the album, is published by furore Verlag in an edition by Julian Riem. Elisabeth Kuyper's "Ballade for Cello and Orchestra", whose original score has been lost, has been re-orchestrated by Julian Riem and Raphaela Gromes from the surviving piano reduction and is now published in an edition by Boosey & Hawkes.