Emilie Mayer (1812-1883)

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany, in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer's concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

Emilie Mayer was born into a family of pharmacists and doctors. Her father, Johann August, was wealthy and owned the only pharmacy in the town of Friedland. When Emilie was only five, he bought her a brand new grand piano and she began taking lessons. Soon she was composing her own works. Her brothers were sent to school, but there was only home tuition available for Emilie and her sister. Her prospects seemed limited. However, Mayer's circumstances changed dramatically when her father tragically took his own life and left her a large inheritance. She no longer needed to marry or find a paid job and decided to move to Stettin where Mayer devoted herself entirely to music.

Overture in C

Mecklenburg Staatskapelle, Schwerin

Mark Rohde, conductor

Piano Sonata in D minor (excerpt)

Yang Tai, piano

Piano Quartet in E flat (Allegro)

Mariani Klavierquartet

Symphony No 1 in C minor (Adagio - Allegro)

NDR Radiophilharmonie

Leo McFall, conductor

Donald Macleod uncovers the story of a forgotten luminary of 19th-century music.

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer's concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

Emilie Mayer had decide to use her new financial independence to seek out professional tuition in music. She moved from Friedland to the city of Stettin where she would meet and study with the influential composer and singer, Carl Loewe. Mayer suggested she share her music lessons with other pupils to spread the cost but Loewe recognised her talent and wouldn't hear of it. Within a few years, Mayer was composing her first symphonies and Loewe was presenting concerts of her works.

Symphony No 2 in E minor (Un poco adagio - Allegro assai)

NDR Radiophilharmonie

Leo McFall, conductor

String Quartet in G minor, Op 14 (Scherzo)

Erato Quartet

Piano Concerto in B flat (excerpt)

Ewa Kupiec, piano

Neubrandenburg Philharmonie

Sebastian Tewinkel, conductor

Symphony No 2 in E minor (excerpt)

Mayer meets her mentor, Carl Loewe.

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany, in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer's concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

Emilie Mayer, at the insistence of her tutor Carl Loewe, now moved to Berlin to study with two of the most prominent musicians in the city, Bernhard Marx and Wilhelm Wieprecht. Mayer found herself at the heart of German musical culture and within a few years, her music was being performed in Berlin, and also published too. Mayer established her own music salon in the city, and becoming a key part of the musical establishment there. She was invited to take up the role of co-director at the Opera Academy and also made an honorary member of the Philharmonic Association in Munich.

Tonwellen (Waltz)

Yang Tai, piano

Symphony No 3 in C, `Military` (excerpt)

Mecklenburg Staatskapelle, Schwerin

Mark Rohde, conductor

String Quartet in G minor, Op 14 (Allegro appassionato)

Erato Quartet

Symphony No 4 in B minor (excerpt)

Neubrandenburg Philharmonie

Stefan Malzew, conductor

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany, in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer's concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

Emilie Mayer had firmly established herself in Berlin's august musical circles. She had been feted by Royals and honoured by the city's major institutions; and yet, she chose to leave the city and return to Stettin in the 1860s. It's possible she wanted to be nearer to her old mentor and champion, Carl Loewe, who was now getting on in years but there may have also been a financial incentive. Her music was now regularly performed across Germany and Austria, and she was often forced to meet the costs involved herself. Her male counterparts would often receive an honorarium from their publishers, but Mayer still had to pay for her works to be put into print. Mayer may have felt that she couldn't afford to stay in Berlin any longer.

Symphony No 4 in B minor (Allegro appassionato)

Neubrandenburg Philharmonie

Stefan Malzew, conductor

Piano Quartet in E flat major (Finale Allegro)

Mariani Klavierquartett

Piano Trio in B minor, Op 16 (Scherzo)

Trio Vivente

Symphony No 6 in E (excerpt)

Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra

Benjamin Reiners, conductor

Mayer returns to her roots in search of a more peaceful life.

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer's concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

In 1876, Emilie Mayer decided to return to Berlin, now capital to a unified German Empire. We're now deep into the Romantic era, and Mayer's music will have felt a little old-fashioned compared with the more progressive composers of the time. Nevertheless, she was still frequently performed. Mayer's new Faust Overture became a hit, and she re-established herself as a significant figure in the city's cultural circles.

Piano Concerto in B flat (Allegro)

Ewa Kupiec, piano

Neubrandenburg Philharmonie

Sebastian Tewinkel, conductor

Symphony No 6 in E (Adagio - Allegro con spirito)

Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra

Benjamin Reiners, conductor

Notturno, Op 48

Anne Katharina Schreiber, violin

Jutta Ernst, piano

Overture to Faust, Op 46

G怀ttingen Symphony Orchestra

Nicholas Milton, conductor