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Ten More Female Composers You Should Definitely Know

Women are still hugely underrepresented in the programming of concert halls and, especially, opera houses, but there are a wealth of recordings of superb music to listen to any time. Here's a selection of ten contemporary female composers to get exploring. If you want to discover more great music, you can find plenty of albums and curated playlists on our Women's History Month page on IDAGIO.

You can also check out the first part of this series, Ten Female Composers You Should Definitely Know, here.

Caroline Shaw is an American composer, singer, and violinist who made history as the youngest ever recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, snagging the coveted award in 2013 for her work Partita for 8 Voices. She is best known for her vocal music, which is often characterized by its intricate textures and inventive use of rhythm. Shaw's music has been performed by some of the world's leading ensembles and continues to push the boundaries of modern music with a unique blend of classical and contemporary music styles.

Hildur Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic composer and cellist who is best known for her film and television scores, including the hit HBO series Chernobyl. In 2020, her score for Todd Phillips’ widely acclaimed film Joker won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. In addition to her work in film, Guðnadóttir is also an accomplished solo artist, with several critically acclaimed albums to her name. Her music is characterized by its haunting beauty, minimalism, and deep emotional resonance.

British composer Rebecca Saunders is one of the most influential contemporary composers. Her works are characterized by their intricate textures, innovative use of sound and space, and highly individual sense of musical structure. In recognition of her exceptional work, Saunders was the first woman composer to be awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis in 2019, one of the most significant accolades in contemporary music.

Born in South Korea in 1961, Unsuk Chin has earned a reputation as a fearless innovator with "a formidable ear for sonority and for mining the expressive potential of the slightest nuances of pitch and pulse." (The Guardian) Among her many accolades, Chin has received the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, one of the most prestigious prizes in contemporary music. Her oeuvre features both electronic and acoustic scores and her musical language is both modern and lyrical.

Lisa Streich is a Swedish composer who has gained international recognition for her innovative and imaginative approach to music. She likes to work with motorised instruments of her own creation and she is fascinated by “the de-subjectivization of sound, which for her becomes universal, speaking of and for everyone.” In recognition of her exceptional talent, she has received numerous awards and accolades.

With over 200 works to her name, Jennifer Higdon's compositions have been performed by major orchestras and ensembles around the world. In 2010, Higdon won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto, which has since become one of the most frequently performed contemporary concertos for the instrument. She is also the recipient of two Grammy Awards and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other prestigious honors.

British composer Judith Weir is one of the most important composers of her generation and currently serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office. She has made a significant contribution to contemporary classical music, drawing on a wide range of musical styles and traditions, including folk music, opera, and musical theatre.

Errollyn Wallen, the "renaissance woman of contemporary British music" (The Observer) is as respected a singer-songwriter as she is a composer of contemporary new music. Drawing on a diverse range of influences, from classical to pop and world music, Wallen has been commissioned by numerous organizations and ensembles and was the first Black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.

“Czernowin composes the negative beauty of disaster; it is the musical equivalent of Picasso’s Guernica or Anselm Kiefer’s Margarethe,” as Alex Ross puts it. Born in Israel in 1957, Chaya Chernowin is best known for her music theatre works. Drawing on various musical traditions, her music deals with topics such as memory and identity and is inspired by her own family’s experiences. In 2009 she was appointed Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at the University of Harvard. 

French composer Eliane Radigue is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music. In a career spanning over five decades, her music has explored the use of electronic instruments to create immersive and hypnotic soundscapes. In recent years, she has increasingly been writing for acoustic instruments. The cycle Occam Ocean encompasses solo pieces, chamber music, and orchestral works. Radigue's music has been praised for its deep sense of tranquility and spirituality, often described as both meditative and otherworldly.

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