Tickets: £5 - £17.50

To book: https://www.grimsbyconcertsociety.org/october.htm

Hidden Figures

The programme celebrates the music of composers from the Classical, Romantic and early 20th Century eras who were hidden from the spotlight.

Melanie Bonis Scènes de la forêt, Op. 123
Adalbert Gyrowetz Divertissement in G Minor, Op. 57
Philippe Gaubert Trois aquarelles
Interval
Ferdinand Ries Trio in Eb major Op. 63
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel Trio in D minor, Op. 11  

Taking the title from the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, we showcase composers whose work was hidden from view by publishers, by gender or simply overshadowed by a more famous peer. Bonis, a classmate of Debussy and pupil of César Franck, was told by her peers that, “a woman composer could never be taken seriously”. From then on she decided to sign her works Mel Bonis, a gender-neutral name, as well as using other male pseudonyms. Gyrowetz’s music was ‘borrowed’ by cunning publishers who printed his symphonies under Haydn’s name. Gaubert, a flautist, conductor and composer who was one of the most prominent French musicians of his generation, was overshadowed by Faure and Debussy and deserves to be more widely known was. Ries was friend, pupil and secretary of Beethoven. Among Ries’ oeuvre are 8 symphonies, 8 piano concertos, 26 string quartets; no doubt overlooked in his subordinate role to the Great Master. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel was in conflict with social norms due to her gender, being told by her father, “for you music must remain but an ornament.”