COMPOSER OF THE YEAR ARCHIVE
Chiquinha Gonzaga
2024 Composer of the Year
Francisca Edwiges Neves “Chiquinha” Gonzaga was born in Rio deJaneiro on October 17th, 1847. Her father, José Basileu Neves Gonzaga, was an army lieutenant, and her mother, Rosa de Lima Maria, was an enslaved woman. Although her parents came from starkly different social classes, Gonzaga’s father did not abandon his daughter. Instead, Gonzaga grew up with the advantages of high-class Brazilian society and received an education in reading, writing, mathematics, languages, religion, and music. She loved music most of all and composed her first song, “Canção dos Pastores” (Shepherd’s Song), at age 11.
Seeking to tame Gonzaga’s “unsettled and mischievous” nature, her father arranged a marriage for her at the age of 16 to 24-year-old imperial army official Riberio do Amaral. Together, the couple had three children. However, Gonzaga’s husband did not support her pursuit of music. Ultimately, when forced to choose between marriage and music, Gonzaga replied, “Well, sir, my husband, I do not understand life without harmony.” The couple promptly divorced.
After her divorce, Gonzaga’s family ostracized her. She found support and community from fellow musicians in Rio, particularly Joaquim Antonio da Silva Callado. Callado was a leader in developing one of Brazil’s most characteristic forms of popular music, choro (pronounced SHO-ro). Callado led ensembles consisting of a soloist, accompanied by guitars and acavaquinho (a small, four-stringed guitar) playing improvisatory figures. Gonzaga played piano in Callado’s ensembles, becoming Brazil's first female conductor and performing musician.
As a composer, Gonzaga brought the sounds of choro and other forms of Brazilian street music into salons and concert halls. This departure from the traditions of European classical music was popular, and Gonzaga’s compositions became especially well-known in the last two decades of the19th century. Gonzaga’s music was also influential in the Brazilian tradition of Carnaval, an annual festival that marks the beginning of Lent. Her composition “Ô Abre Alas!” (Oh, Make Way!) was played at the festival to ask crowds to make way for the parade.
Activism was another prominent part of Gonzaga’s career. After joining the Sociedade Brasileira de Autores Teatrais (Brazilian Society of Artistic Copyright Law), she worked hard to protect the copyright of other Brazilian artists. Gonzaga supported abolitionist movements in Brazil until the abolishment of slavery in 1888. She frequently used the money she made from selling her music to donate to organizations that sheltered and protected enslaved people.
Chiquinha Gonzaga died in Rio on February 28th, 1935. Although she remains relatively unknown worldwide, she is considered an important cultural figure within her home country. She produced over 200 compositions in her lifetime, including waltzes, polkas, and operettas. The National Day of Brazilian Popular Music is celebrated on October 17th, Chiquinha’s birthday.
Mel Bonis
2023 Composer of the Year
Mélanie Hélène Bonis (January 21, 1858 - March 18, 1937) was a French composer, pianist, and organist. Born in Paris, Bonis taught herself to play piano before being admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris by organ professor and notable composer César Franck. At the Conservatoire, she studied alongside Claude Debussy and published her first piece of music under the pen name “Mel Bonis” in order to obscure her gender.
Viewing music as an unsuitable career, her parents rejected a proposal of marriage from a fellow musician and withdrew Bonis from the Conservatoire. Although she was forced into an arranged marriage, Bonis continued to compose and produced many of her best known works from 1900-1914. The onslaught of World War I hindered Bonis’ composing but she returned to music in her later years, composing primarily religious music for organ and choir.
PAST Events
Mel Bonis Femmes de Légende
Friday, April 12 at 7:00 pm
Woman's Club of Louisville
1320 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40208
Overview:
To celebrate the work of Mel Bonis, LAM’s 2023-2024 Composer of the Year, LAM partners with Kentucky Shakespeare for an evening telling the story of seven “legendary women.” Female students and teachers will perform each movement of this cycle, and actresses from KY Shakespeare will perform monologues based on each mythical figure. We hope that this evening will call attention to Bonis, who unfairly fought against gender barriers in making her voice heard through music. Her story is not mythical, but perhaps in time, she too will be acknowledged as a “legendary woman.”
Florence Price
2022 Composer of the Year
Florence Beatrice Price (April 9, 1887 – June 3, 1953) was an American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, and was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death in 1953. Price is noted as the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. Price composed over 300 works: four symphonies, four concertos, as well as choral works, plus art songs, and music for chamber and solo instruments. In 2009, a substantial collection of her works and papers was found in her abandoned summer home.
Check out this playlist featuring Price’s music!
Past Events
THE LAM FLORENCE PRICE FEST
3 Free Community Events in collaboration with our community partners
WHO IS FLORENCE PRICE?
MARCH 4TH, LOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN BRANCH
2 - 3:30 PM
Ed White, Founder and Executive Director of Louisville’s River City Drum Corps, will lead a reading session of the book “Who is Florence Price?,” written by the students of the SP Kaufman Music Center. After the reading, the Louisville Academy of Music will lead an interactive musical event for families and then conclude with the performance of a composition written by Florence Price. This event is great for students of all ages!
301 York St, Louisville, KY 40203
FLORENCE PRICE MUSICAL SHOWCASE
MARCH 12TH, SPEED MUSEUM
2 - 4 PM
The Louisville Academy of Music will perform a musical showcase in which both students and faculty will perform the works of Florence Price in the atrium of the Speed Museum!
2035 S 3rd St, Louisville, KY 40208
THE LIFE & WORK OF COMPOSER FLORENCE PRICE
MARCH 18TH, SIMMONS COLLEGE, HERITAGE ROOM
3 - 4:30 PM
Douglas Shadle and Kori Hill will lead lectures and Q&As about the life and work of composer Florence Price. Performances will include musicians from both the Louisville Academy of Music and the Simmons college faculty.
1018 S 7th St, Louisville, KY 40203