Pianist Sarah Cahill, described as “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times, will give a performance of her ongoing project, The Future is Female, presented by Four Seasons Arts. Cahill will perform a riveting program of music by historical women composers, including Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Hélène de Montgeroult, Louise Farrenc, Maria Szymanowska, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Margaret Bonds.
Cahill has recorded music from The Future is Female in a three-volume set for UK-based label First Hand Records, with listeners wholeheartedly embracing her celebration of historical and living women composers. This Berkeley concert precedes the release of The Future is Female, Vol. 3 “At Play,” which will be released on April 28, 2023.
This program includes female composers such as Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, an acclaimed composer, harpsichordist, and musician in the court of Louis XIV; Hélène de Montgeroult, pianist and composer who saved herself from the guillotine by improvising variations on “Le Marsaillaise” during the French Revolution; Louise Farrenc, whose repertoire was deemed mandatory repertoire for students studying at the Paris Conservatory; Maria Szymanowska, a published female composer of the 19th century; Fanny Mendelssohn, who, unlike her brother Felix, was forbidden to publish music; and Margaret Bonds, a pianist as well as composer, best known for her virtuoso fantasy based on the spiritual “Wade in the Water.”