A symphony of notes

melodious tunes

Pianist Orietta Caianello performed some relatively unknown classical pieces by various women composers to a delighted group of music lovers

Recognition of women in every field has always been a struggle.

And even in today’s world, where women walk hand in hand with men, there are some fields in which they are still not given as much recognition as their male counterparts.
Working on this concept, Orietta Caianello performed a classical piano recital at Alliance Francaise in the City recently.

Performing an unusual and interesting collection of pieces only by women
composers, Orietta tried to portray the different stories these composers had, with respect to their backgrounds.

 Briefing the crowd with some interesting titbits about each composer, Orietta caught the audience’s attention and her renditions amazed everyone.

“This concert is the output of the hard work of two years, during which time many works had to be examined,” said Orietta.

This extensive research was reflected in the performance. Some of the pieces that she performed were from times when women who played the piano dedicated compositions to their husbands.

Others were pieces by women, who learnt to play the piano as it was a part of being ‘feminine’ and considered good manners.

“The status of woman has improved a lot, with woman composers becoming popular day by day,” added Orietta, during the performance.

The pieces that she performed were ‘Sonata in A Major’ by Marianne von
Martinez, which was a three-movement piece; ‘Six variations on a theme from ‘The Magic Flute’’ by Josepha von Auernhammer, which was beautiful, witty and ironic all at the same time; ‘Variation Op 20 on a theme of Robert Schumann’ by Clara Schumann, a piece that reflected tension and change in mood.

The other pieces that Orietta played at the recital included ‘Sonata in E major’ by Marianne von Martinez, ‘Six variations on a Hungarian Theme’ by Josepha von Auernhammer and ‘Sonata in G Minor’ by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. 

“Moving to women composers is a very recent change for me and the work is still on, with many more composers to explore in chronological order,” said Orietta.

Maya Jayapal, a music connoisseur, commented, “Orietta’s a virtuoso and her delicate and inspiring performance has left me deeply impressed.”

Gita Chacko, a music teacher, added, “I absolutely loved the pieces that followed after the interval, which displayed unique finger dexterity and are definitely difficult to play.”