Mayer meets royalty and establishes her own salon. Presented by Donald Macleod.

Composer of the Week explores the remarkable life and music of Emilie Mayer, who was known in her lifetime as the Female Beethoven. Born in Germany, in 1812, Mayer is considered by some to be the most prolific female composer of the Romantic period. She was held in high regard by the musical establishment of her time and appointed co-director of the Opera Academy in Berlin. Royalty frequently attended Mayer’s concerts and awarded her gold medals for her music and other artistic endeavours. In 1883 when Mayer died, she was buried in a place of honour, near to Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Donald Macleod is joined by Katy Hamilton throughout the week, to explore Mayer's life and the environment in which she flourished.

Emilie Mayer, at the insistence of her tutor Carl Loewe, now moved to Berlin to study with two of the most prominent musicians in the city, Bernhard Marx and Wilhelm Wieprecht. Mayer found herself at the heart of German musical culture and within a few years, her music was being performed in Berlin, and also published too. Mayer established her own music salon in the city, and becoming a key part of the musical establishment there. She was invited to take up the role of co-director at the Opera Academy and also made an honorary member of the Philharmonic Association in Munich.

Tonwellen (Waltz)
Yang Tai, piano

Symphony No 3 in C, “Military” (excerpt)
Mecklenburg Staatskapelle, Schwerin
Mark Rohde, conductor

String Quartet in G minor, Op 14 (Allegro appassionato)
Erato Quartet

Symphony No 4 in B minor (excerpt)
Neubrandenburg Philharmonie
Stefan Malzew, conductor

Produced by Luke Whitlock, for BBC Wales Show less