I’m delighted to introduce my three-book piano series: Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano (Schott Music). This series was published in February/March 2022 and was one of my lockdown projects. Schott and I worked on these publications over a significant period and I’m happy to say that this series won a Presto Music Award for best New Series Of The Year in December 2022.
Over the centuries, women have certainly lacked a prominent voice, be it in opera, on the concert stage, or as writers and composers. However, there is now a distinct movement towards the female composer. This movement also aims to readdress the significant gender imbalance throughout the arts.
In light of this long overdue shift, it seems appropriate to highlight the numerous female composers who have written for the piano, particularly those who have contributed to the educational piano music repertoire. This list is extensive. It begins nearly four hundred years ago when women were writing with just as much vigour, innovation, and dedication then as they are today.
Research
Since female composers’ music has not been as visible as their male counterparts, it’s therefore more challenging to locate. The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians is a good place to start for those who would like to do their research. Beyond this, focusing on various websites and publishers can be helpful. These include the Hildegard Publishing Company who publish music written by women. Donne – Women in Music is a website for female composers. The Archiv Frau und Musik or Archive of Women in Music is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Additionally, consider the Petrucci website or the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP).
There are several interesting publications. Specifically, The New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers by Julie Anne Sadie and Rhian Samuel (Macmillan Press: 1994) is noteworthy. Another significant work is The Pandora Guide to Women Composers by Sophie Fuller (Rivers Oram Press: 1994). Additionally, Sounds and Sweet Airs by Anna Beer (Oneworld Publications: 2016) is interesting, too.
Variety and Diversity
This project began in 2019 and my research has led to some splendid discoveries. Compiled with variety in mind, there is a large collection of styles and genres from the Seventeenth Century to the present day. With a spotlight on diversity, I hope this selection promotes a disparate group of women composers from around the world.
Contents
Women Composers – A Graded Piano Anthology is arranged over three volumes. It contains fifty-two works by fifty-one female composers – I have written two pieces for this collection. Each book consists of a selection of pieces within a graded level. These might be approximately similar to the levels found at the various UK examination board syllabuses. The books include the composer’s biographies and practice or performance suggestions (‘Performance Notes’) for every piece. Every score has been annotated with added metronome markings, pedalling, and fingering.
Book 1
Book 1 features twenty-one pieces. The pieces are arranged over three levels and each level has seven pieces. The levels are Elementary, Late-Elementary, and Early Intermediate (approximately Grades 1 – 4). The collection does include works by familiar composers. These include Elisabetta de Gambarini, Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Anna Bon, Maria Szymanowska, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Ethyl Smyth, and Mélanie Bonis. These more prominent names sit alongside lesser-known composers that are equally interesting, such as Florence Ada Goodrich, Narcisa Freixas, Felicitas Kukuck, Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, Hedwige Chrétien, and Ivana Loudová.
One element which I feel is important in any anthology is contemporary music. With this in mind, there are compositions by a total of twelve living contemporary composers over the three volumes. In Book 1, British composer Rachael Forsyth has written a delightful swing number, ‘Soggy Shoes Blues’. Australian composer Wendy Hiscocks has penned an energetic jig, ‘Fig and Fennel’. British composer Samantha Ward has written a lively, fun blues work, ‘Rockin’ Fingers’. These pieces, alongside my piece, ‘Mirage’, were all written for this series.
You can hear all twenty-one pieces by clicking on the playlist below where they appear in the same order as in the book.
Book 2
Book 2 is arranged over three levels; Intermediate, Late-Intermediate, and Early Advanced, similar to Grades 4 – 7. The intermediate level contains seven pieces, and Late-Intermediate and Early Advanced levels feature six works. There are Baroque numbers by Elizabeth Turner and Maria Teresa Agnesi. Classical-style works are by Hélène de Montgeroult, Helene Liebmann, Maria Hester Park, and Cecilia Maria Barthélemon. Romantic pieces come from Louise Farrenc, Luise Adolpha Le Beau, Mon Schjelderup, Maria Görres, and Theodora Dutton. Contemporary composers include a beautiful jazz-inspired Minimalist piece by German composer Julia Hülsmann. British composer Jenni Pinnock and Malaysian composer Jessica Cho have both written their pieces, especially for this volume.
Enjoy the complete playlist, here:
Book 3
Book 3 is arranged over two levels; Advanced and Late-Advanced (Grade 7 – diploma). This volume features twelve pieces. It spotlights works by Marianna von Martinez, Amy Beach, and Lili Boulanger. The book also features Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, and Teresa Carreño. Additionally, it includes Chiquinha Gonzaga, Lady Viola Kinney, and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Contemporary music composers include Russian composer Tatjana Komarova, Japanese composer Mai Fukasawa, and Israeli composer Chaya Czernowin.
Hear the complete playlist below:
Five pieces from this series are featured on the ABRSM 2025-6 syllabus. They can be found in Grade 3, 5, 6, and 7, as well as the new ARSM Diploma syllabus. From 2024, all three volumes, alongside my Play it again: PIANO series, are included on RSL’s Classical Piano Syllabus (Rockschool), and each piece has been graded and suggested as ‘own choice’ repertoire. The series also features on the 2025 – 2027 ANZCA (Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts) Classical and Modern Piano Syllabus, particularly the new Licentiate Teaching Diploma, where it forms part of Module 3.
I hope these volumes inspire pianists. The performance or practice notes, printed alongside each piece, are a useful addition during learning stages and I believe that the composer’s biographies also provide valuable insights.
Purchase
All three volumes are available from many online shops and websites as well as on Musicroom.com, Prestomusic.com, and Amazon. You can also purchase them in hard copy or as a digital download from the Schott Music website by clicking on the link below:
Reviews
‘An extremely useful and stimulating collection.’
International Piano Magazine
‘These three volumes are an eye-opener into the extensive range of female composers from all over the world. Informative biographical notes as well as performance tips complete the books that cover four centuries of refreshing and exciting music. Melanie Spanswick must be congratulated on her extensive research in uncovering exciting music to enthral pianists and teachers.’
Piano Professional Magazine
‘This series is an incredible and mush-needed collection of over fifty works by over fifty composers. London-born composer, professor and author Melanie Spanswick has done an exceptional job of collating these works into graded anthologies. Each book contains composer’s biographies and detailed performance notes for each piece contained within.’
The Piano Teacher Magazine
‘This collection has been thoughtfully researched and throughout its entirety features composers from over 20 countries. The interior layout of the books is flawless. With this compilation, it’s clear that Spanswick has done plenty of research, meaning that students and their teachers will find a wealth of information on every piece.’
Music Teacher Magazine
‘Melanie Spanswick’s anthology is, in addition to being representative, also very inspiring. She offers sufficient choice of attractive, good, simple and technically challenging compositions in all styles and genres. Since these three volumes are mainly for piano teachers and their piano students, Spanswick provides fingerings, pedal suggestions and very useful advice for studying and performing. The biographies of the female composers allow you to get acquainted with this new repertoire completely.’
Piano Bulletin
‘These are well-presented books that succeed in offering some belated recognition to neglected composers and their music.’
Pianist Magazine
‘Melanie Spanswick’s Women Composers: A Graded Anthology series certainly delivers a rich feast of music which rightly belongs at the heart of any player’s repertoire. She has done us all an immense favour by researching, compiling and presenting these fabulous collections.
Melanie Spanswick’s Women Composers: A Graded Anthology is utterly superb, and will surely be of significant interest to pianists everywhere.’
PianoDao Blog
‘This series brings a lot of surprises and discoveries, although it also presents some names more or less recognizable, but definitely too rarely present in concert programmes. That is why I am a strong supporter of such publications and all similar ones. I am also convinced that a similar anthology should be published on the Polish market and this is a task and challenge for PWM. However, I definitely recommend the series itself!’
More and more, Melanie, I realize what an enormous achievement this is. Both as a scholar/researcher, and as a musician, you have done something remarkable. You have brought this music back from the silence, often across the centuries, and placed a bright spotlight on the best women’s music, making it truly accessible to modern pianists at all levels. Through your biographical capsules and your Performance Notes, you have enabled us to meet the composers, and you sit beside us as we learn, helping us to bring the music alive. Now, it can live and be heard once again. Today’s musicians thank you, and so do those who came before. In the infinite reaches of the universe, the music never dies.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I really hope you enjoy the series. It has been a pleasure to discover so much wonderful music composed by women. 🙂