Women in Music: A Cultural Dialogue between the United States and Spain
Anna Tonna, mezzo-soprano and Isabel Pérez Dobarro, pianist
Wednesday, November 21, 18.00:XNUMX p.m.
Free entrance until full capacity
****
The artists
Anna Tonna, mezzo-soprano
Isabel Pérez Dobarro, pianist
With the invited artists:
Angelica de la Riva, soprano
Mili Fernandez, violin
Concert with classical and contemporary works for piano, mezzo-soprano, soprano and violin composed by the historical María Rodrigo, Eugenia de Osterberger and Amy Beach, by members of the New York Women Composers Association (USA) and the Association of Women in the Music (Spain) as well as students from the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Program
It will be performed by the American mezzo-soprano and recipient of the Fulbright in Spain (2007-2008) Anna Tonna and the Spanish classical pianist Isabel Pérez Dobarro. They will have the collaboration of guest artists Mili Fernández (violinist) and Angelica de la Riva (soprano).
This event tries to encourage dialogue between creative women, in this case in the field of classical music. The promotion of works by women composers in both countries is extremely necessary, as there is still significant gender inequality in this field. This concert offers a platform for female composers from Spain and the United States to interact and exchange ideas about musical aesthetics and the impact of their work, as well as help each other to achieve much-needed visibility. In addition, with the presentation of two works by girl composers, the aim is to provide an intergenerational perspective to the project, offer positive examples and promote the incorporation of girls into classical composition.
Women in Music / Women en Music
The project, led by Anna Tonna and Isabel Pérez Dobarro, has already been presented to great public and critical acclaim at the American Space in Madrid on May 25, 2017 and at the Lincoln Center in New York (Bruno Walter Auditorium) on May 24. January 2018. In 2016 and 2018, the initiative was awarded the New York Women Composers Seed Grant. In its two years of existence, the project has collaborated with the Embassy of the United States in Spain, the International Institute, the Very Young Composers Program of the New York Philharmonic, the Women in Music Association of Spain, the New York Women Composers Organization, the Murray Hill Institute, and the New York Women Social Entrepreneurs.
Renowned New York critic John Osburn noted in his review of the concert at New York's Lincoln Center:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed this concert, where two men, Shakespeare and Cervantes, were honored by a legion of distinguished women musicians. (…) The work of Consuelo Díez, Being and Time, composition for piano that was played with extraordinary depth by Isabel Pérez Dobarro. (...). The Ladies of Don Quixote (2015-2011) by Alexa Babakhanian where (…). Nan-Maro Babakhanian and Anna Tonna gave each song a particular tone and character, with hints of flamenco and other Spanish musical forms, rooting them in tradition. (...). Both Sonnets (2007) and The Raven Himself is Hoarse (2016) (…) were beautifully performed by Tonna and Pérez (…). The Chains of Love by Pamela Sklar set Cervantes' poem to music the chains of love, using the flutes (...) to accompany Tonna and Pérez and open a superior second part (...).
The program at the Bruno Walter Auditorium began with two pieces by high school students from the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program: Sunflower Madeleine Schmidt and beauty and magic by Cassandra Stevens, both for piano and flute. They deserved the outstanding interpretation of Pérez, Sklar and Falzon.” (Women in Music, Osburnt: Dispatches from a life seared by the arts).