Henriëtte Bosmans - Early Chamber Music (Solarek Piano Trio)

Information

Composer: Henriëtte Bosmans

• Violin Sonata
• Ariëtta for Violin & Piano
• Piano Trio

Solarek Piano Trio

    Marina Solarek, violin

    Miriam Lowbury, cello

    Andrew Bottrill, piano

Date: 2022

Label: Toccata

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Review

These are first recordings of early works by the Dutch composer Henriëtte Bosmans (1895–1952), written in a rich late-Romantic style. The 1918 Sonata opens with a full-blooded fervent theme, thrusting forward on a wave of dodgy intonation. It quickly calms down into something melancholy and thoughtful, with Solarek maintaining a quiet, passionate intensity. A dry, pecked theme opens the Non troppo presto second movement, gnomic and restless. The languid, angular Adagio flows into the wistful fugal opening of the Moderato assai finale, which remains largely contemplative before rising to a degree of grandeur at its conclusion.

After the short reflective melody of the Arietta, they are joined by cellist Miriam Lowbury for Bosmans’s Piano Trio of 1921, which has wide-ranging conversations between violin and often high cello following its turbulent opening. Lowbury neatly crafts the opening melody of the central Andante, which has at its centre a little scherzo with plenty for Bottrill to do. The last movement opens with a slow, meandering soliloquy from Solarek before bursting out into energetic jollity. These pieces are certainly worth an outing, and the artists do many good things musically, but this recording is let down by Solarek’s constantly uncertain intonation. The recorded sound is clear and balanced.

— Tim Homfray

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Henriëtte Bosmans (6 December 1895 – 2 July 1952) was a Dutch composer and pianist. Born into a musical family, she studied piano with her mother and composition with several notable teachers. She made her concert debut in 1915 and went on to perform widely across Europe, including 22 concerts with the Concertgebouw Orchestra between 1929 and 1949. During World War II, unable to perform due to her Jewish heritage, she focused more on composing. She was knighted in 1951 and died shortly after her final recital in 1952. A prize in her name was created in 1994 to encourage young Dutch composers.

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The long-established Solarek Piano Trio has toured widely across Britain and Europe, performing at prestigious venues such as London’s South Bank and St. David’s Hall, Cardiff. The trio regularly performs and teaches in Germany, where they promote British composers like Alan Bush and Rebecca Clarke. In 2019, they began collaborating with author Anna Beer to bring attention to overlooked female composers. They recently recorded works by Henriette Bosmans and launched Silent Scores, a series of workshops aimed at integrating underrepresented women composers into school and college music curricula.

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