Sandra Crawshaw

Pianist's selection delights

Dunedin musician Sandra Crawshaw was the sole performer at yesterday's lunchtime concert at Marama Hall.

"A Celebration of Women Composers" featured pianoforte works of three eminent female composers, whose works are known and respected from an age when males dominated most areas of the arts. Crawshaw a pianist of considerable performing ability, delighted the audience with her selected works and commentary.

German composer and pianist Luise Adolpha Le Beau wrote in  many genres, with full support from her parents. Her music is very much in the Romantic style. Munter from Five Preludes Op 12 with its prominent melodic lines could very well have been a "song without words" by Mendelssohn. Bewegt, with fast, rippling textures, and Einfact were presented with great attention to nuance and expression of lyricism.

Cecile Chaminade, a French composer, is remembered for a flute concerto, but composed over 400 works. many of which were salon "sheet music" pieces, some receiving great popularity on rolls for pianolas in the early years of last century. Pierrette (Air de Ballet) Op 41 and Moment Musical Op 103 preceded an extremely spectacular delivery of Tocata Op 39, traditionally in a form which displays the scalic virtuosity of the performer.

America's best-known female composer to have written large-scale works in the classical genre is Amy Marcy Chanel Beach, and uses every note of the instrument except three. The big strong work in traditional form, received a very impressive interpretation.

The recital ended with the joyous toe-tapping style of Blue Ribbon Rag by American May Aufderheid, who wrote 14 ragtime pieces.

Women of Note

An appreciative audience enjoyed a superb piano concert on Sunday February 24 in the Armstrong Room. The performer was Sandra Crawshaw, an accomplished musician who is usually seen and heard as the leader of the second violins in the Southern Sinfonia but she is a consummate piano concert performer.

Sandra described her growing interest in the compositions of some female musicians who enjoyed amazing professional careers but whose work has been largeley ignored by the music world. The program included sparkling works by Clara Wieck, who later married the composer Robert Schumann, and Cecile Chaminade whose piece, "The Flatterer", sold four million copies of the sheet music in her own lifetime.

After the interval Sandra played music by the American composer Amy Beach. The music was challenging but Sandra gave a passionate performance of all aspects. She finished the evening talking about her love of ragtime music and played "the Blue Ribbon Rag" by May Aufdeheide.

Any doubts about the appeal of works by women composers quickly vanished as this very talented performer brought these wonderful works to life.