If you have not heard of Amanda Maier (1853-1894), you are not alone. A celebrated violin soloist and composer during her life, Maier was all but forgotten in death. (This was a common, if unjust fate among women musicians, who were largely ignored by music scholars for most of the twentieth century.) Today, however, Maier's popularity is making a comeback, and rightfully so! Researchers and performers, predominantly in Sweden and the Netherlands, have become enamored with Maier, resulting in new publications and performances of her music, and renewed efforts to find her lost manuscripts. There have been only a few performances of her works in North America, where Maier remains a relative unknown.

The Library of Congress Music Division holds published scores of two works by Swedish composer Amanda Maier (1853-1894): Sonata for violin and piano in B minor (Musikaliska Konstforeningen 1878) and Piano Quartet in E minor (Donemus 2010).

Who was Amanda Maier

Amanda Maier was born in Landskrona, Sweden, on February 20, 1853. Her father taught her violin and piano when she was a child and, showing great musical promise, she enrolled at the Kungliga Musikaliska Akadn in Stockholm at age sixteen. In Stockholm her principal instrument was the organ, but she also studied cello, piano, violin, elementary sig, composition, counterpoint, harmony, instrumentation, and history and aesthetics of music. When Maier graduated with top grades in 1873, she became the first woman ever to earn the title of Musikdirektor (Director of Music) from the institution.

In 1873 Maier moved to Leipzig to pursue further studies in violin and composition. Among her teachers were Engelbert Rontgen (concertmaster of the Gewandhaus orchestra), Carl Reinecke (director of the Gewandhaus orchestra) and Ernst Friedrich Richter (professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Hochschule fur Musik and cantor of the Thomasschule). In Leipzig Maier spent her studying, composing, and perfog, and nearly every evening she participated in some sort of musical activity. She attended many concerts, sat in on rehearsals of the Gewandhaus orchestra, and frequently participated in musical soirees, where she socialized and collaborated with the city's finest musicians.

Maier's career as both violinist and composer flourished in the 1870s. Most of her compositions were written during this decade, and she performed frequently in both Germany and Sweden. Some of her most notable performances include those of her own violin concerto: with the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig, for King Oscar II in Malmo, and at the Kungliga Teatern (Royal Theatre) in Stockholm, all in 1876. In the summers of 1874 and 1876 Maier and her colleague, soprano Louise Pyk, performed many concerts in southern Sweden. In 1878 and 1879 they were joined by pianist Augusta Kjellander for much more ambitious tours that took them farther north and into Norway in 1878, and to St. Petersburg and Finland in 1879. Maier's performances were well received. Reviews were positive, and in her diaries she often wrote of numerous curtain calls, dozens of bouquets of flowers, and requests for future performances. Maier was a celebrity in the Swedish press, which followed her whereabouts and reported rumours about forthcoming compositions in addition to concert advertisements and reviews. It was reported that in 1878 Maier declined an offer of an extensive tour in the United States.

In Leipzig, Maier grew close to her violin teacher's son, the pianist and composer Julius Rontgen. Maier and Rontgen spent many evenings playing music together, including each other's works-in-progress. They were engaged in 1876 and were married in Landskrona in 1880. The pair settled in Amsterdam, where Rontgen had been teaching for two years, and where he later led a number of musical organizations. Maier's career, in contrast, declined significantly. She very rarely performed in public, and composed much less. She did however continue to participate in social musical evenings, where she had the opportunity to collaborate not only with local musicians, but guests to the city, such as Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg and Anton Rubenstein.

Maier suffered a series of health problems that undoubtedly contributed to the decline in her musical activities. Throughout her adult life, she suffered from difficulty with her eyes, often leaving her bedridden for days at a . Between the birth of her two sons (Julius in 1881 and Engelbert in 1886), Maier suffered three difficult miscarriages, and shortly after Engelbert's birth, she fell ill with pleurisy, the first encounter with the illness that would eventually take her life. Despite several rest cures in France and Switzerland, and tranquil summers spent in Norway and Denmark, she never fully recovered. Maier died in her sleep on June 15, 1894.

Tracklist
CD1
01. Violin Concerto in D Minor
02. Piano Quartet in E Minor: I. Allegro
03. Piano Quartet in E Minor: II. Andante
04. Piano Quartet in E Minor: III. Presto con fuoco
05. Piano Quartet in E Minor: IV. Largo espressivo-Allegro vivace-Presto
06. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 1, Moderato ed espressivo
07. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 2, Allegro non troppo
08. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 3, Andante
09. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 4, Allegro
10. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 5, Andante
11. Swedish Tunes & Dances: No. 6, Allegro

CD2
01. Violin Sonata in B Minor: I. Allegro
02. Violin Sonata in B Minor: II. Andantino
03. Violin Sonata in B Minor: III. Allegro molto vivace
04. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 1, Allegro vivace
05. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 2, Allegro con moto
06. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 3, Lento
07. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 4, Allegro molto
08. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 5, Tranquillamente
09. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 6, Schneller
10. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 7, Sehr ruhig
11. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 8, Nicht zu langsam
12. 9 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 9, Allegro, ma non troppo
13. 4 Songs: No. 1, Aftonklockan
14. 4 Songs: No. 2, Den sjuka flickans sang
15. 4 Songs: No. 3, Ungt mod
16. 4 Songs: No. 4, Sangen

CD3
01. Piano Trio in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro
02. Piano Trio in E-Flat Major: II. Scherzo-Trio
03. Piano Trio in E-Flat Major: III. Andante
04. Piano Trio in E-Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco
05. String Quartet in A Major: II. Andante
06. String Quartet in A Major: III. Allegro non troppo
07. St. Nicholas-Schwank (Excertps): Allt under Himmelens faste
08. St. Nicholas-Schwank (Excertps): Romanze
09. St. Nicholas-Schwank (Excertps): Schwedisches intermezzo
10. Abendlied, Op. 85 No. 12 (Arr. A. Maier for Violin & Piano)

CD4
01. Zwiegesprache (Excerpts): No. 1, Allegretto con moto
02. Zwiegesprache (Excerpts): No. 3, Allegro eneo
03. Zwiegesprache (Excerpts): No. 4, Allegretto con grazia
04. Zwiegesprache (Excerpts): No. 9, Moderato
05. Zwiegesprache (Excerpts): No. 10, Allegro molto vivace
06. 25 Preludes: No. 1 in F Major
07. 25 Preludes: No. 2 in G Minor
08. 25 Preludes: No. 3 in D Major
09. 25 Preludes: No. 4 in G Major
10. 25 Preludes: No. 5 in E Major
11. 25 Preludes: No. 6 in F Minor
12. 25 Preludes: No. 7 in E Minor
13. 25 Preludes: No. 8 in D Minor
14. 25 Preludes: No. 9 in B Minor
15. 25 Preludes: No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor
16. 25 Preludes: No. 11 in B-Flat Major
17. 25 Preludes: No. 12 in A-Flat Major
18. 25 Preludes: No. 13 in B Major
19. 25 Preludes: No. 14 in G-Sharp Minor
20. 25 Preludes: No. 15 in C Major
21. 25 Preludes: No. 16 in A Minor
22. 25 Preludes: No. 17 in A Major
23. 25 Preludes: No. 18 in F-Sharp Minor
24. 25 Preludes: No. 19 in F-Sharp Major
25. 25 Preludes: No. 20 in D-Sharp Minor
26. 25 Preludes: No. 21 in E-Flat Major
27. 25 Preludes: No. 22 in C Minor
28. 25 Preludes: No. 23 in D-Sharp Major
29. 25 Preludes: No. 24 in B-Flat Minor
30. 25 Preludes: No. 25 in F Minor
31. Klavierstuck
32. St. Nicholas-Schwank (Excertps): Nach-Mittag's Potpourri



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