From 29 October to 1 November 2020, the Archiv Frau und Musik organised an online conference on choral music by women composers. The contents of 29 October 2020 are available on this page.
Vienna – Frankfurt am Main – New York – Locarno: Margarete Dessoff’s (1874–1944) life was marked by numerous changes of location. Similarly, through her music, the dedicated choir director opened doors to new sorts of listening experiences.
In 2020, author Sabine Fröhlich published a much-acclaimed biography of Margarete Dessoff, in which she traces the path of an artist; one who not only set new accents in programming and concert form, but also challenged ideas of gender hierarchy with her successful performances as a conductor for over three decades. With her women’s and mixed choirs in both Frankfurt and New York, she performed previously unknown early music choral works, but also provided a forum for contemporary women composers, such as Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Louise Talma, and Marion Bauer.
From Frankfurt, then out into the wide world: Margarete Dessoff was the perfect opening for our digital choir days! After a festive welcome by our project staff Julian Fischer and Jelena Rothermel, author Sabine Fröhlich read an excerpt from her monograph Margarete Dessoff (1874–1944): Choral Conductor on the Path to Modernity.
29 October 2020, 7 pm:
Welcome by Julian Fischer and Jelena Rothermel, 15’14: Greeting from Dr. Birgit Kiupel (DDF):
29 October 2020, 8 pm:
Reading by Sabine Fröhlich from Margarete Dessoff (1874–1944). Choral Conductor on the Path to Modernity:
The Archiv Frau und Musik would like to thank the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, as well as the Digital German Women’s Archive and its media partner Chorzeit – The Vocal Magazine for sponsoring this event.