By Emily Trubshaw Although many YouTube comments are encouraging and supportive of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s music, there is also a wide spread of those that criticise her ability to produce more than just a well-executed musical structure. Rather than moving her audience, Bacewicz is often perceived as being clinical and unoriginal. ‘Her generativity lacks…
Read MoreSue Lawley – Broadcaster
By Declan Hickey There is no greater reservoir of satisfaction than the BBC Radio 4 archive, suffering only from its incompleteness. Fortunately, the channel’s enduring contribution to mankind, Desert Island Discs, is among its better-preserved programmes. Better still, the golden age of 1988–2006 survives fully intact, no record or luxury spared. Devoted listeners will know…
Read MoreMy Nana, Molly
By Ruby Howells One of the most inspirational women in my life is my grandmother – or Nana – Molly. For her whole life, she has always helped others, and is the most selfless person I know. When she worked, she was a carer for adults with severe disabilities, many of whom she became friends…
Read MorePauline Viardot: Inspirational Diva
By Mia Serracino-Inglott When we think of an inspirational woman, do we think of a ‘diva’? Certainly, the term diva has undergone quite the negative rebranding in recent years, often being used to describe women who are over-dramatic, bossy, or rude. But back in the opera houses of the nineteenth century, to be called a…
Read MoreWho Resurrected Carmen?
By Kennedy Blair Miller Artwork by Jess Bull Anderson The doors to the Opéra-Comique theatre opened to a bustling crowd of eager Parisians on 3 March 1875. Well-dressed socialites, composers, and artists presented their tickets to the ushers with an air of superiority. They had been invited to the premiere of a new opera, Carmen,…
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