Christmas concert by Holmès, Augusta, Bonis, Farrenc, L., Strohl, Wed 06 Dec 2023, From (2023/2023), Palazzetto Bru Zane, Venice, Italy

Rarities tend to come together. For example, among the works composed in the nineteenth century by women – which are far less numerous than those of their male counterparts – we often find pieces written for instruments that were not really appreciated at that time other than within a symphony orchestra. That was true of the flute, but also of the clarinet, which found particularly fertile ground for expression with Louise Farrenc, Augusta Holmès and Rita Strohl. Substituted for the violin as part of a piano trio or placed as an accompanied soloist, the instrument succeeded in taking on a new image: no longer confined to the orchestra or to a wind band playing military music, it imposed its mellow and virtuosic presence in the intimate context of the Parisian salons.