Mel Bonis: Orchestral Works CD
Born in 1858, Mel Bonis showed a prodigious talent for music from an early age, attending the Paris Conservatory from the age of sixteen, studying under César Franck alongside Claude Debussy. She composed more than 300 works, including pieces for solo piano, chamber music, and over forty songs. As Bonis was too modest for self-promotion, and a victim of gender bias, her music fell into obscurity after the First World War, and she became bedridden from arthritis. She continued to compose until her death in 1937. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra led by Rumon Gamba present select orchestral works by Bonis composed between 1891 and 1912. Their program includes the three-part Women of Legend, the Waltz Suite, the Oriental Suite, Three Dances, and the Sacred Dance.
