Farrenc: Piano Quintets

In our highly acclaimed series of women composers, we now open a significant chapter: Louise Farrenc (1804-1825). She had a doubly hard time: on the one hand as a composing woman and on the other hand as an exclusive creator of instrumental music in the opera-drunk Paris of the 19th century. Francais Fetis, one of the most influential critics of his time wrote of her "Unfortunately, the genre of great instrumental music, to which Madame Farrenc still felt called by her nature and her studies, demands means of performance that a composer can often obtain only with enormous effort. In addition, there is a less knowledgeable audience and publishers who - especially in France - cover their ears anyway when it comes to valuable works. Here lies the reason why Madame Farrenc's work has fallen into oblivion with us, while at another time it would have been a credit to any artist."