Public Domain

Louise Farrenc

While scrolling through my Google feed, I saw an article entitled “15 Greatest Symphonies of all Time”. Of course, I clicked on it and was taken to Great Britain’s Classic FM website. Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was the first piece listed. Based on that, I assumed the pieces were in no particular order because as good as the “Jupiter Symphony” is it’s not the greatest symphony of all time.

The next entry confirmed my suspicion and made me realize that these weren’t the 15 greatest symphonies of all time. Number 2 was Symphony No. 1 by a composer named Florence Price. The piece was from 1932 and won a competition. I sighed. Here we go. The piece is only about 20 minutes long. Around the six-minute mark of the video, I could have sworn I was listening to Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.

Also on the list was a composer named Louise Farrenc. Farrenc’s are 1804 to 1875. The article points out that she was unable to attend the Paris Conservatory because composition classes were for men only.

Damn you patriarchy! You robbed the world of a great symphonic composer.

Well, maybe. Farrenc’s Symphony No. 3 is considered, by Classic FM, to be one of the top 15 of all time. Yet, when I listen to it I hear Mozart. I don’t hear the entire 19th Century.

I’ve long felt that William Grant Still needs more attention from American orchestras. His Afro-American Symphony is a great American symphony–maybe it’s the greatest symphony by an American but top 15 of all time? No.

All three of these pieces are good and enjoyable. I am thankful for the article because I was unaware of both Florence Price and Louise Farrenc. However, let’s take a look at a list of symphonies that these three are supposed to be greater than.

They are greater than Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, Pytor Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5, and Johannes Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 1-3. They surpass all of Joseph Haydn’s symphonies. They eclipse Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 29, 35, and 40.

They outshine all of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies. They exceed all of Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn’s symphonies. They dwarf Camille Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 and all of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonies. They outstrip all of Dimitri Shostakovich’s symphonies save his Symphony No. 5.

They outshine all of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies save his Symphony No. 2. Yes, Florence Price’s 20-minute symphony beats Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Finally, they are greater than Ludwig Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5, 6, and 7.

It is true that Louise Farrenc didn’t have equal opportunities because of her gender. William Grant Still didn’t have equal opportunities because of his skin color. Florence Price didn’t have equal opportunities because of both her gender and skin color. However, declaring their work as equal or superior is ludicrous. This type of totalitarian thinking is making some headway in classical music and opera. I, for one, still believe that 2+2=4.