Window of Pride

Written by Elle Bogle

 

Every month, our shop window is full of brilliant composers. But for this specific month, all the musical artists featured are also part of the LGBTQ+ community. From Tchaikovsky to Nina Simone, Chappell Roan to Benjamin Britten, we are showcasing the wonderful diversity of the LGBTQ+ music community. 

Schott Composers

Over the last century, Schott has been the home of many LGBTQ+ composers. One such is Sir Michael Tippett who has become a staple of 20th century British music. Arguably his most famous work, A Child Of Our Time has been sung a whopping 9 times at the BBC Proms. A personal favourite of mine is his Second Symphony for its dense, complex texture and huge sweeps of emotion.

A Child of Our Time Michael Tippett 9790220100697 View in store	In lieblicher Bläue Julian Anderson 9790220136177 View in store

Next to it is Julian Anderson's In lieblicher Bläue (In Lovely Blueness). Inspired by Friedrich Hölderlin's prose-poem of the same name, this ethereal violin concerto instructs the soloist to start offstage and at one point replace their bow with a pencil. I will add that Anderson's piece ECHOES for baritone, choir and orchestra was commissioned for Classical Pride, Europe's first large-scale classical Pride concert. 

In the window we have another violin work: Hans Werner Henze's riveting third violin concerto. As Guy Rickards' describes in the Gramophone Magazine, this "Shakespearean" piece is attributed to "three character portraits drawn from Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus: Esmeralda, the child ‘Echo’ and Rudi Schwerdtfeger." 

More Contemporary Composers

To display more contemporary LGBTQ+ composers, I have included Thomas Adès's string orchestra work Three Studies From Couperin, as well as a choral score of Meredith Monk's Nightfall. In the former, Adès takes an 18th Century sound world and muddles the melodies together to reimagine a new musical tapestry. In Nightfall, Monk invokes music sung by those of her namesake to create an ancient, heavenly sound. 

Three Studies from Couperin Thomas Adès 9780571536566 View in store	Nightfall Meredith Monk 9790051482740 View in store

Leonard Bernstein's works for clarinet and piano are also in the window, containing songs from his musical West Side Story and other such songs arranged for clarinet by the composer. In 2023, Bradley Cooper gave a frighteningly accurate portrayal of the man in Maestro, a film almost athletic in its emotional weight-lifting. I highly recommend you see it as it's readily available on Netflix. 

After some research, I've discovered that two underrepresented film composers and orchestrators were quietly responsible (and often uncredited) for some of the most iconic moments of cinema to come out of the 1970s. The first is Angela Morley: with her style rooted in late Romanticism, her Rêverie for violin and piano evokes that 'old Hollywood' sound beautifully - see my pick of the month for more on Morley. Wendy Carlos on the other hand specialised in electronic and experimental music, working on two of Stanley Kubrick's most famous horror films: A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. Both women transitioned in the early 1970s and continued to work in the very male dominated industry. Morley went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (the first transgender person to ever be nominated at the Oscars) and Carlos became the first transgender person to ever win a Grammy. While Carlos' music is unfortunately not readily available, I wanted to make sure the transgender community were represented in our Pride window. 

'We have always been here'

There have been many LGBTQ+ artists over the centuries, but it has only been thanks to political movements and pioneering individuals (particularly over the 20th Century) that more music artists have felt comfortable enough to come out. 

I've added to the display Schott's collection of Tchaikovsky piano works, a new addition to their Best Of Classics series. Tchaikovsky's sexuality is often either overlooked or forgotten, in part due to Soviet and Russian cencorship efforts to dilute or outright expunge any homosexual references in biographical works, including his extensive personal letters. 

Best of Tschaikowsky Ed. Hans-Günter Heumann 9790001222976 View in store	Sonata for Violoncello and Piano Samuel Barber 073999685701 View in store

Also present in the window is Samuel Barber's gorgeous Cello Sonata Op.6, a lovely book detailing Francis Poulenc's life and songs, and Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring which is to be performed later this year in the BBC Proms. I've made a specific display of Benjamin Britten works, including his Simple Symphony and Violin Concerto which are both also being performed at the BBC Proms. 

In the window is also a collection of songs that Marlene Dietrich made famous and toured the world with in her cabaret act for many years. The songbook also contains a short biography of the legendary star, miniature descriptions of the songs in the context of Dietrich's life and career, and snapshots of her in films and photoshoots. 

Ethel Smyth's contribution to the piano canon is compiled in this collection. Smyth is often known for her contributions to the Suffrage movement, composing music for the protestors and teaching Emmeline Pankhurst how to throw stones. She served two months in Holloway Prison during the movement and conducted the other inmates' singing with a toothbrush out of her cell window. 

Popular LGBTQ+ Music Artists

The colour in the window display is brightened by the distinctive purple of the vocal selection to Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss's musical Six. For more musical theatre repesentation, we have the vocal score to Stephen Sondheim's Company. In 2018, Marianne Elliot's includive production the role of Amy was changed to Jamie with the casting of Jonathan Bailey, future star of the Wicked films. 

SIX: The Musical Songbook Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss 9780571541515 View in store	Nina Simone: The Piano Songbook Volume 2 9780571530359 View in store

The two Billies are here! Billie Holiday's book Lady Sings The Blues and Billie Eilish's latest album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, are both on display. You can find Holiday's arguably most famous and affecting song Strange Fruit in this Jazz Piano Songbook. Adding to the list of incredible voices in the window is Nina Simone's 2 volume song collection. 

Chappell Roan has only come into the limelight recently but she's been working as a singer-songwriter for many years - anyone who knows her music will know that her fame has long been overdue. Her album The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess has lead her to massive success, sell-out venues and packed festivals. I can tell you from personal experience, Good Luck Babe is incredibly satisfying to play on the piano and Coffee will make you and any friends listening weep. 

I couldn't make this window without including some of the most famous LGBTQ+ men of the Rock Music world. First is the music collection from Elton John's biopic Rocketman, containing music from throughout his career and an additional song specifically written for the film, (I'm Gonna) Love Me Again. Freddie Mercury is represented in the Queen Deluxe Anthology which contains an extensive collection of the band's greatest hits mixed with some lesser-known, underappreciated songs. Unfortunately, due to space constraints, I couldn't fit a David Bowie song collection in the window. But as soon as one of the other works gets bought, rest assured he will be added immediately.

Queen: Deluxe Anthology Updated Edition 9781540030429 View in store	David Bowie: 1947-2016 9781785582769 View in store

More To Come

There are so many more LGBTQ+ composers that unfortunately can't all fit in the window. But next year we will definitely shine a bigger light on composers like the avant-garde Peter Maxwell Davies, Michael Finnessy, Pierre Boulez, and John Cage. Space will be made for Richard Rodney Bennett, Arthur Benjamin and Cole Porter. Camile Saint-Saëns, Jean-Baptiste Lully, and many more will be sure to be represented. 

I'll finish this blog by resharing two operas by Schott composers. The first is Tobias Picker's Lili Elbe, an opera based on Elbe's artistic life and the pioneering gender transition surgery she underwent. Her life was also famously chronicled in the 2015 film The Danish Girl. The second is Gregory Spears' opera adaptation of Thomas Mallon's historical novel Fellow Travelers, which spans the decades-long relationship of two men during McCarthyism in America. This is the same book that was recently adapted into a heartbreaking TV series with Jonathan Bailey (of Wicked and Company fame) and Matt Bomer of White Collar. If you liked the TV show or book, be sure to listen to the recording of Spears' opera. It's European premiere was staged last year by University College Opera at the Bloomsbury Theatre, coincidentally just a short walk away from the shop. 

Below, my colleague has collated a playlist for you to check out some of the music mentioned in the blog. Happy listening and 
Happy Pride everyone!