Johanna Senfter (1879-1961)

Kate Molleson & Nastasha Loges explore the life and music of Johanna Senfter.

If you know the name Johanna Senfter, it is probably in connection with her teacher, the composer, Max Reger. Senfter won the Arthur Nikisch prize for composition in 1910, and went on to be one of the most prolific of all late-Romantic female composers, writing at least 150 works, yet she has all but disappeared from our history books. In between the two World Wars she was very active within the world of music too, founding the Oppenheim Music Society, organizing her own concert series and founding the Oppenheim Bach Society. However, her personal life is shrouded in mystery with little information published about either her biography, or her music, and there are substantial gaps in her story when we know nothing about Senfter. Unsurprisingly then, there are also questions hanging over certain elements of her personal life, and her political allegiances. Over the course of this week, Kate Molleson is joined by Professor Natasha Loges to explore the life of Johanna Senfter. They also examine the tumultuous world of early 20th Century Germany in which Senfter was working, and speculate on the reasons for her anonymity today.

Music Featured:

Suite for two violins No 2 (Menuet) Symphony No 4 (2nd mvt) Drei Klavierstucke, op 77 Violin Sonata in G minor, Op 32 (4th mvt) Trio for clarinet, horn and piano (3rd mvt) Vogelweise Clarinet Quintet (2nd mvt) Symphony No 4 (3rd mvt) Viola Sonata No 1 in F minor, Op 41 (3rd mvt) Chorale Preludes, Op 70 (Nos 4, 2 & 9) Sonata for cello in A Major, Op 10 (4th mvt) Suite for two violins No 91 No 2 (1st mvt) 5 pieces for viola and piano, Op 76 (No 5) Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 90 (3rd mvt) 6 Little Pieces for violin and piano, Op 13 (No 3 Elegie) Sonata for cello and piano in E flat major, Op 79 (2nd mvt) Clarinet Sonata (3rd mvt) Drei Klavierstucke Op 83, No 1 Sonata for violin and piano in A major, Op 26 (4th mvt) Concerto in C minor for two violins and orchestra, Op 40 5 pieces for viola and piano, Op 76 (Weihnachten. In ruhiger Bewegung) Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 90 (1st mvt) Suite for two violins No 1 (Courante) Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 90 (2nd mvt) Symphony 4 (1st mvt) Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in B, Op 11 (3rd mvt) 6 Little Pieces, for violin and piano (No 1, Melodie) Mazurka: Allegretto

Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales and West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Johanna Senfter (1879-1961) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wqp7

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z