A time for ambitions

In many areas, Louise Farrenc paved the way for the generation of women composers that came after her. She was the first French woman to be admitted to the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, with a symphony, and she made a name for herself as a composer of chamber music, twice winning (1861, 1869) the prestigious Prix Chartier, awarded annually by the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Gone were the days when female composers could only produce works for private performance, and creators such as Clémence de Grandval and Cécile Chaminade made the most of that. These women composers have slowly been forgotten, but the piano trios presented in this concert serve as a reminder of their hopes for recognition.