Emilie Mayer



Emilie Luise Friderica Mayer (14 May 1812, Friedland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – 10 April 1883, Berlin) was a German composer of Romantic music. Although Emilie Mayer began her serious compositional study relatively late in life, she was a very prolific composer, eventually producing some 8 symphonies and at least 15 concert overtures, as well as numerous chamber works and lieder. She is often referred to as the "Female Beethoven" because of her pioneering attitude and similarities in style.

Life and career
Emilie Mayer was the third of five children and eldest daughter of a wealthy pharmacist, Johann August Friedrich Mayer, and his wife Henrietta Carolina. Her mother died when Emilie was two years old. When she was five, she received a grand piano and was given music lessons. At this time, it was common practice for children of wealthier families to receive private school lessons from tutors and be taken care of by service staff hired by the family. Her musical talents were fostered by these private lessons. According to one of her surviving personal statements, “After a few lessons … I composed variations, dances, little rondos, etc.” Seemingly destined for domestic life, in 1840 at the age of 28, her circumstances changed when her father committed suicide - 26 years to the day after her mother was buried - leaving Mayer with a large inheritance.

In 1841, she moved to the regional capital city of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland). Women were denied admittance to universities during this time, so she sought to study composition with Carl Loewe, a central figure in the musical life of the city. The German writer Marie Silling claims that Loewe, after auditioning her, claimed "You actually know nothing and everything at the same time! I shall be the gardener who grows your talent from a bud to a beautiful flower" With him, she wrote Die Fischerin, her only Singspiel.

In 1847, after the premiere of her first two symphonies (C minor and E minor) by the Stettin Instrumental Society, and with the urging of her tutor, she moved to Berlin to continue her compositional studies. Once in Berlin, she studied fugue and double counterpoint with Adolf Bernhard Marx, and instrumentation with Wilhelm Friedrich Wieprecht.

She began publishing her works (e.g. Lieder op. 5-7, in 1848) and performing in private concerts. Then, on 21 April 1850, Wieprecht led his "Euterpe" orchestra in a concert at the Royal Theatre exclusively presenting compositions by Mayer, including a concert overture, string quartet, a setting of Psalm 118 for chorus and orchestra, two symphonies and some piano solos. Shortly after this, she was awarded the gold medal of art from the Queen of Prussia, Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria. With critical and popular acclaim, she continued composing works for public performance. She traveled to attend performances of her works, including to the Königliches Schauspielhaus, and countries such as Cologne, Munich, Lyon, Brussels and Vienna.

After Carl Loewe died in 1869, the Loewe society was formed. Mayer dedicated two of her cello sonatas to members of the society and their families. The Op. 40 (1873) Cello Sonata is dedicated to the sister of composer Martin Plüddemann from Kolberg, and the Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 47 (1883) is dedicated to the Baron von Seckendorff from Stargard.



In 1876, Mayer returned to Berlin where her music was still frequently performed. Mayer’s new Faust Overture, based on Goethe's Faust, was successful and she re-established herself as a significant figure in the city’s cultural circles. She was a honorary member of the Philharmonic Society in Munich and was the co-chair of the Berlin Opera Academy. Mayer died on 10 April 1883 from pneumonia in Berlin and was buried at the Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I at the Holy Trinity Church not far from Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

Compositional style
Emilie Mayer was initially influenced by the Vienna classic style, whilst her later works were more Romantic. Mayer's harmonies are characterized by sudden shifts in tonality and the frequent use of seventh chords, with the diminished seventh allowing Mayer to reach a variety of resolutions. One defining characteristic of Mayer's music is a tendency to set up a tonal centre with a dominant seventh, but not resolving to the tonic immediately; sometimes, resolution is skipped altogether. Her rhythms are often very complex, with several layers interacting at once. The first movements of her works usually follow a sonata-allegro form.

Compositions
Mayer's chamber music output was extensive, including lieder and choral settings, many works for piano and seven string quartets. She wrote a piano concerto, fifteen overtures and eight symphonies, as well as an opera.

Discography

 * Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Emilie Mayer, M. Laura Lombardini Sirmen: String Quartets (CPO, 2000). String Quartet in G minor, op. 14. Performed by: Erato Quartett Basel.
 * Fanny Hensel, Emilie Mayer, Luise Adolpha LeBeau (Dreyer Gaido, 2003). Symphony No. 5 in F minor. Performed by: Kammersymphonie Berlin, Jürgen Bruns (conductor).
 * Mayer: Violin Sonatas (Feminae Records, 2012): Sonata in E minor for Violin and Piano, op. 19 – Sonata in E-flat Major for Violin and Piano – Sonata in A minor for Violin and Piano, op. 18. Performed by: Aleksandra Maslovaric (violin), Anne-Lise Longuemare (piano).
 * Emilie Mayer (Capriccio, 2018). Symphony no. 4 in B minor – Piano Concerto in B flat major – String Quartet in G minor – Piano Sonata in D minor – Tonwellen. Valse – Maricia in A major. Performed by: Ewa Lupiec, Yang Tai (piano), Klenke Quartett, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Stefan Malzew, Sebastian Tewinkel (conductors).
 * Emilie Mayer (CPO, 2020). Symphony No. 1 in C minor – Symphony No. 2 in E minor. Performed by NDR Radiophilharmonie conducted by Leo McFall.
 * Emilie Mayer (CPO, 2022). Symphony No. 3 in C major 'Sinfonie Militar' – Symphony No. 7 in F minor. Performed by NDR Radiophilharmonie conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend.
 * Emile Mayer (Hänssler Classic, 2021). Symphony No. 3 in C major - Symphony No. 6 in E major. Performed by Philharmonisches Orchester Bremerhaven, conducted by Marc Niemann.
 * Emilie Mayer: Piano Trios, Notturno (CPO, 2017): Piano Trios, Op. 13 and 16; Notturno for Violin & Piano, Op. 48. Performed by: Trio Vivente.
 * Emilie Mayer (CPO, 2023). Overture in D minor - Overture No. 3 in C minor - Overture No. 2 in D major - Piano Concerto in B-flat major. Performed by Tobias Koch (piano), Kölner Akademie, conducted by Michael Alexander Willens.
 * BBC Radio 3 broadcast five hours of Mayer's music from 29 November to 3 December 2021 as Composer of the Week''. These are available as downloads on BBC Sounds and as podcasts.