Women Composers 2018
Distributed by Film Movement
Produced by TVBMedia Production
Directed by Kyra Steckeweh and Tim van Beveren
Streaming, 53 mins
Middle School - General Adult
Music; Women’s History
Date Entered: 04/30/2021
Reviewed by Kara Van Abel, Reference Librarian & Liaison to the Collat School of Business, University of Alabama at BirminghamThe film, Women Composers, delves into the lives and work of three female composers who lived in Europe during the 19th century. The lives of Fanny Hensel, Lili Boulanger, and Mel Bonis are examined by the pianist Kyra Steckeweh. She began researching this subject after she noticed a distinct lack of female compositions in her performance repertoire. The film is the product of Steckeweh’s attempt to uncover female composers and to better understand the personal and societal barriers each of the three women had to overcome to create their art.
Interviews with historians and descendants of the composers support the narrative of the film. Steckeweh also documents her travels to the cities and homes in which these women lived and wrote their music. Archival material used in the film includes footage of original sheet music, portraits, photographs, letters from friends and acquaintances, and even passages from the travel diary of Fannie Hensel. Critical appraisals demonstrating both favorable and unfavorable reviews from the composer’s contemporaries are also shared.
Peppered throughout the film are clips of Steckeweh performing music written by each of the composers, and it is also this music that haunts the background of narration. The pacing of the film is steady, and it reveals the story of each woman a little at a time capturing family life, education, personal circumstances, and events leading up to each of their deaths. Towards the end of the film the director reflects on why these extraordinary women did not achieve the same notoriety as some of their male contemporaries. She also explains her reasons for delving into the history of these women, and the importance of including their work and the work of other women in her performances. This film is recommended for all audiences who want to learn more about remarkable women in the arts during the 19th century.
Awards:
November Award-Best Documentary New York Movie Awards, Opus Klassk Germany
Published and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Anyone can use these reviews, so long as they comply with the terms of the license.