Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) France
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31
- 1 min read
She studied at the Paris Conservatory with Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, and Poulenc, forming the group known as Les Six (The Six), being the only woman in the group. Fun fact: her real surname was Taillefesse, but she changed it when she was young to annoy her father, who had refused to support her musical studies. (Good job!)
Here's her work Image for 8 instruments. The link to the score only contains a piano reduction for 4 hands, but hey, it's something.
Her notable works include her First Piano Concerto, Concertino for Harp, the ballets Le marchand d'oiseaux, La nouvelle Cythère , and Sous les ramparts d'Athènes, Concerto for 2 Pianos, Choir, Saxophones, and Orchestra (what?!), Violin Concerto, and several operas. She also composed music for films and documentaries.
Obviously, I'm bringing you the very strange concerto for two pianos, choir, saxophones, and orchestra. There's no score, but if anyone has access to it, please let me know; I'd love to see it!
Although the two previous works have a very distinctive and more innovative style, she also composed music in a slightly more romantic style (though not as much, as it becomes unhinged later). You should listen to the following works in full to understand what I mean. Link to download the score included.
Violin Sonata No. 1
Impromptu for piano
And here's more music just because:
Piano Concerto No. 1:
Concertino for harp and orchestra:
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