Composer of the Week - Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952)

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Donald Macleod explores Henriëtte Bosmans' rise to fame as both a pianist and a composer.

Henriëtte Bosmans seemed destined for a life in music from the moment of her birth, in 1895. Her father was the principal solo cellist in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and her mother a piano teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Bosmans developed a flourishing career and won international success with her Concert Piece for Violin and Orchestra. As a concert pianist she performed alongside conductors such as Ernest Ansermet and George Szell.

Bosmans’s mother was a Jew and, although Bosmans didn’t consider herself Jewish, her ancestry played a significant role in the events of her life. She lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, when tens of thousands of Amsterdam Jews were deported to concentration camps, including her fellow citizen, Anne Frank. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by Bosmans expert Dr Helen Metzelaar and also Dr Laurien Vastenhout from Amsterdam’s Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide.

Music Featured:

Prelude No 3, 4 & 6 (from Six Preludes)
Cello Sonata (excerpt)
String Quartet
Poème for cello and orchestra
Arietta (from Two Recital Pieces)
Trio for piano, violin and cello
Im Mondenglanze ruht das Meer
Le diable dans la nuit
Concertino for piano and orchestra
Prelude No 5 (from Six Preludes)
Cello Sonata (excerpt)
Cello Concerto No 2, UK première
Lead Kindly Light
Gebed
Danse Orientale (from Two Recital Pieces), UK première
Trois Impressions for cello and piano
Dit eiland
Complainte du petit cheval blanc
Aurore
Concertstuck for violin and orchestra
Concertstuck for flute and chamber orchestra
La chanson du chiffonnier
Das macht den Menschen glücklich
Een lied voor Spanje
Violin Sonata, UK première

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Luke Whitlock, for BBC Wales
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014y4m
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z

Published on Friday, 11th March 2022.

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