Women in Music – serie

Dora Bright was a 'stage star' before the term 'star' had even been invented. After a successful period at the Royal Academy of Music, reports of her ability circulated the globe from America, across Europe and as far as Australia. She became known as one of the finest pianists of her generation and was the first woman to be invited to perform at a Philharmonic Society concert in 1892, where she performed her newly composed Fantasia No. 2. A woman of considerable determination and stamina, she was at the forefront of the English Musical Renaissance at the turn of the twentieth century, and an avid supporter of the music of her friends and colleagues. Marriage did not prevent her from performing and composing, but the death of her husband made her turn away from public view for a time as she mourned his loss. Returning to the stage, she became friends with Adeline Genee, and together they returned English ballet to the centre of London Theatre, and were key to the creation of the Royal Academy of Dancing. This book takes the reader from the arrival of Dora Bright's grandfather in Sheffield in 1769 through to her death in 1951 providing, through a rich variety of archival materials, a public perspective on the life of this important, but now little-known, musician and composer.

Hired Guns is a look across several decades of the music industry through the experiences and careers of a selection of professional female musicians. Those women profiled are members of influential, acclaimed bands and touring musicians with major acts; they each represent important music scenes and movements, having respectively emerged from and thrived in seminal moments of music such as the California hardcore punk scene, the Minneapolis alternative boom, and much more. This book presents a frank and unique female perspective on the music business, charting their professional challenges and triumphs, providing an insight into the machinations of the industry, and offering a glimpse into the education, work, and lifestyle required of such professionals. The authors conduct candid interviews with their subjects and compose an insightful cultural and historical discourse, drawing readers into the artistic, social, and industrial contexts of several seminal musical movements as they give voice to these female road warriors who have enthralled millions of fans across the world while remaining largely anonymous to the public. Kramer and Byrne now bring them center-stage to tell their story. This book features comprehensive chapters on: Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Indigo Girls) Sue Hadjopoulos (Joe Jackson, Simple Minds, Cyndi Lauper) Clare Kenny (Sinead O’Connor, Orange Juice, Shakespeare’s Sister) Susan Miller (Frightwig, Bad Posture) Tracy Wormworth (The Waitresses, Sting, B-52’s) Joy Askew (Joe Jackson, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel) Sara Lee (Gang of Four, Robyn Hitchcock, Thompson Twins) Lori Barbero (Babes in Toyland) Caroline Dale (David Gilmour, U2, David Gray, Page and Plant) Angie Pollock (The Lightning Seeds, Goldfrapp, Peter Gabriel)

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969): a composer with an individual, expressive style, an excellent violinist, a very fine pianist, and a talented author. At the Conservatory in Warsaw she studied composition with Kazimierz Sikorski, her violin tutor was Józef Jarzębski and her piano professor was Józef Turczynski. Graduating in 1932, she travelled to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, later returning there to work with Carl Flesch. Her compositional output covered many genres, from ballets to songs and choral works, but also ranging from symphonies, concerti, and chamber works to pieces for solo piano. In 1936 she became principal violinist in the Polish Radio Orchestra. She then toured Europe as a soloist in the two years leading up to World War II, later resuming her career as a concert violinist and pianist after the war. For many years, Grażyna Bacewicz held the post of Vice-President of the Union of Polish Composers. She also served as a judge in many prestigious international music competitions. Strong and sensitive, and exceptionally family oriented, Grażyna Bacewicz was also blessed with unusual charm, phenomenal energy and huge creative potential.Grażyna Bacewicz became world famous and won numerous prizes for her compositions, which were regularly performed by the best musicians, and picked up for publication. She received enthusiastic reviews from music critics, among them Stefan Kisielewski, who noted the ‘passionate ferocity’ of her playing and described her concerto for string orchestra as ‘a rare piece of healthy and tasty music’.This biographical story, based in large measure on letters and other family documents, has been brought to us first hand by the composer’s grand-daughter, the writer Joanna Sendłak.