A musical treasure trove: Cellist Raphaela Gromes rediscovers overlooked female composers

How many female composers of classical music do you know? Raphaela Gromes champions lesser-known, underrepresented, and formerly overlooked female composers. For her double album "Femmes," cellist Raphaela chose selected pieces written by 23 exceptional female composers across nine centuries. It includes music by Pauline Viardot-García, Florence Price, Amy Beach, Hildegard von Bingen and Clara Schumann. Gromes collaborates with the Festival Strings Lucerne chamber orchestra, led under the direction of Daniel Dodds, as well as her longtime piano accompanist Julian Riem. Together, they interpret not only compositions written by classical women composers, but also modern pieces by female pop stars—like "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish.

We meet privately with Raphaela Gromes and talk to her about the "Femmes" project, learning why she is so committed to highlighting female composers. Why have these women been neglected by the music business for so long? How do they differ from their male counterparts? What does Raphaela Gromes think about gender equality and quotas for women in classical music? And most importantly, how does she see her own career as a woman in the music business? In addition to the interview, Raphaela Gromes and Julian Riem will perform selected excerpts exclusively for DW Classical Music.

At a glance:
(00:00) Excerpt from Amy Beach’s “Dreaming”
(00:46) Raphaela Gromes on the female composers she selected for her project “Femmes”
(01:43) First excerpt from Pauline Viardot-García’s “Six Morceaux, VWV 3003, II. Bohémienne”
(02:19) Raphaela Gromes on the French Opera singer and composer Pauline Viardot-García
(02:50) Second excerpt from Pauline Viardot-García’s “Six Morceaux, VWV 3003, II. Bohémienne”
(03:16) Raphaela Gromes on gender equality in the classical music industry
(03:55) First excerpt from Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances, Op. 22, III. Leidenschaftlich schnell“
(04:33) Raphaela Gromes on discrimination in the 19th century against women like Clara Schumann
(05:35) Second excerpt from Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances, Op. 22, III. Leidenschaftlich schnell“
(05:53) Raphaela Gromes on the relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann
(07:06) Third excerpt from Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances, Op. 22, III. Leidenschaftlich schnell“
(07:52) Excerpt from Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die”
(08:33) Raphaela Gromes on her curiosity for music
(08:58) Excerpt from Florence Price’s “Adoration”
(09:46) Raphaela Gromes on the African-American composer Florence Price
(10:29) Raphaela Gromes on American composer Amy Beach
(11:13) Excerpt from Amy Beach’s “Four Sketches, Op. 15”
(11:50) Raphaela Gromes on the polymath and composer Hildegard von Bingen
(12:24) First excerpt from Hildegard of Bingen’s “O virtus Sapientiae”
(12:34) Raphaela Gromes on the differences between female and male composers
(13:35) Second excerpt from Hildegard of Bingen’s “O virtus Sapientiae”
(13:51) Raphaela Gromes on the role models who inspired her in her youth
(14:40) Third excerpt from Hildegard of Bingen’s “O virtus Sapientiae”
(14:58) Raphaela Gromes on gender quotas in the music industry
(15:31) First excerpt from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen Fantasy” (arr. Julian Riem)
(16:06) Raphaela Gromes on strong female role models in opera
(17:09) Second excerpt from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen Fantasy” (arr. Julian Riem)

Raphaela Gromes was born in Munich to cellists Wilhelm Gromes and Astrid Hedler-Gromes in 1991. She received her first cello at the age of four, and began taking piano lessons from her mother. At the age of seven, she had her first concert experience when her parents began to include her in their performances. In 2005, she made her solo debut performing the Cello Concerto by Friedrich Gulda. Gromes studied at the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Hochschule in Leipzig from 2006 until 2010, before enrolling at the Musikhochschule in Munich and later at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Among her many prizes and accolades is winning the "Chamber Music Recording Duo" category at the 2020 OPUS KLASSIK for her recording of "Offenbach" alongside pianist, Julian Riem. For many years, Gromes has championed musical pieces by unknown, underrepresented, and overlooked female composers. She is supported by the Frankfurt-based archives center, "Frau und Musik".

Report: Gero Schliess
Camera: Rossi
Editing: Manuela Reuss

© 2023 Deutsche Welle

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