Louise Farrenc

Nonet in E flat major op. 38

The Nonet op. 38 from 1849 has now been recorded several times and appears regularly in concert programmes. The colourfulness achieved through the variable combination of the different instruments is remarkable. The influence of her teacher Anton Reicha in the treatment of the wind instruments is unmistakable. In the second movement (Andante con moto, a theme with four variations and a concluding Allegretto), whole sections of the variations are left to the wind quintet. It is therefore very regrettable that she only composed one other chamber music work for winds, the Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet op. 40. Louise Farrenc's chamber music in particular is the reason why she is one of the few women of the 19th century to still be played today - and not for emancipatory reasons, but because of the high quality of her compositions, which are in no way inferior to those of her male colleagues.