Antje Weithaas . Tanja Tezlaff . Gunilla Süssmann

"For Felix, perhaps, music will be a profession, but for you it will always remain an adornment. It can never and may never be the basis of your existence." These celebrated words were written by father Abraham Mendelssohn to his fifteen-year-old daughter Fanny. Although she was not only a talented pianist, but also a good composer, it was not the done thing in bourgeois circles for a woman of standing to earn money from music. Even brother Felix was against publication of her compositions. The idea that composition was a purely male preserve also dogged Clara Schumann. Herself an exceptionally talented pianist and composer, she devoted herself primarily to publicizing the work of her husband Robert. In 1913, the Frenchwoman Lili Boulanger became the first female composer to win the prestigious Prix De Rome. Despite her short life, she put together a striking body of work. 'D'Un matin de printemps' and 'D'Un soir triste' bear witness to her colourist style of writing in the manner of Fauré and Debussy. With a strong dose of girl power, Antje Weithaas, Tanja Tetzlaff and Gunilla Süssmann devote a concert to these three great ladies from musical history. Men admitted.