International Women's Day

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

As today is International Women's Day, we thought we’d tell you about a wonderful French composer you may or may not have heard of before.

Mélanie Hélène Bonis, or Mel Bonis as she preferred to be called, was a prolific composer of piano and organ works, chamber music, art songs, choral music, and several orchestral pieces. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included César Franck. She was born in 1858 and died in 1937, so her lifetime spanned the age of Hector Berlioz to Alban Berg.

In the 1890s, Bonis reconnected with her first love, a man she had met while still a student, who had encouraged her musical talent. So she left her husband, who did not encourage her, to devote herself full-time to her music. Initially performed and admired in Paris, after World War I her music was neglected, and she became bedridden from arthritis. Despite everything, she continued to compose up to the time of her death at 79.

Among her works are seven piano portraits of women, collectively titled Femmes de Légende, or Legendary Women — some of which, like Salomé, she arranged for full orchestra.

Music Played in Today's Program

Mel Bonis (1858-1937): Salomé; Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse; Leo Hussain, conductor; Bru Zane BZ-2006