Louise Farrenc (1804 – 1875) was a French, Romantic composer, pianist and teacher. She composed a large set of piano works, as well as orchestral, vocal, choral, and chamber compositions. This was aided by her marriage to Aristide Farrenc, a flautist (flute player) who quit the music industry in order to become the owner of a printing business.
Throughout her lifetime, Farrenc fought for equal rights in a male-dominated world. This was shown through her being the only women Professor at the Paris Conservatoire of Music in the 19th Century. After the successful premiere of her nonet in 1850, which featured the well-known violinist Joseph Joachim, Farrenc ensured herself equal pay to her male counterparts.
Here’s a clip of Farrenc’s Nonet in Eb, Op. 38 (1849):
Louise Farrenc – Nonet in E-flat major, Op.38 (1849), posted by KuhlauDilfeng2
If you want to learn more about Louise Farrenc, read our post on Happy Birthday where we debate about the pre-existence of the Happy Birthday melody in Farrenc’s Symphony No. 3 scherzo section.
References:
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/louise-farrenc-story/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Farrenc#List_of_compositions
https://www.last.fm/music/Louise+Farrenc/+wiki
Our Music Blog 