Esther Abrami’s album »Women« highlights the extraordinary talents of 14 female composers from different eras and genres and includes new compositions by Oscar winners Rachel Portman and Anne Dudley as well as new arrangements of works by female composers such as Pauline Viardot, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Teresa Carreño and Ethel Smyth.
Esther Abrami herself has rearranged some of these pieces and composed her own orchestral piece for the album, “Transmission”. At the heart of “Women” is the world premiere recording of Ina Boyle’s Violin Concerto, a poetic, late-Romantic composition.
The composer chose each piece for the album because of a special emotional connection to the different women behind the music: “For as long as I can remember, the only classical music I’ve ever heard was written by male composers. I studied classical music at renowned music schools for over 15 years, but in all these years I didn’t play a single piece by a woman. It wasn’t that I actively avoided these pieces – they just weren’t part of the canon. I wondered, “Have women ever composed classical music?” and it turned out they did, and I discovered a hidden treasure. I spent months researching and immersed myself in a whole new world of music and fascinating stories of women who had remained in the shadows of history. This album is my tribute to them and a journey through centuries of music, told through the voices of women who composed, fought, lived and created against all odds. The stories of these women inspired me for my career path and showed me how important it is that future generations can discover them. I hope ‘Women’ can inspire a new generation of young girls to compose.”
Throughout her fledgling career as a professional musician, Esther Abrami has been committed to giving female composers a voice. In her podcast “Women in Classical”, she talks to influential female musicians about her career. With her EP »Spotlight« with the London-based »Her Ensemble«, which consists exclusively of women and non-binary musicians, she has already literally thrown a spotlight on female composers. » Women« consistently continues this path and brings together a number of extraordinary performers, such as the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna under the direction of conductor Irene Delgado-Jiménez, pianist Kim Barbier, harpist Lavinia Meijer and the Esther Abrami Quintet.
“I am incredibly happy to work with such a great orchestra and great musicians on such a personal project. Bringing these compositions to life with an orchestra is a memory I will never forget.”
