Music Faculty Celebrate Women’s History Month with Schonthal’s “Love Letters”

Music professors Jessica Lindsey, associate professor of clarinet, and Mira Frisch, professor of cello, have created a recorded performance of Ruth Schonthal’s Love Letters in celebration of Women’s History Month. The performance was sponsored by the Gaston College Multicultural Affairs Committee and streamed via the Gaston College website and Facebook page on March 15. The presentation will also be aired daily the week of March 29–April 4 at 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and the week of April 5-11 at 2:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Spectrum Cable Channel 21 in Gaston County.

Schonthal (1924 -2006) was born in Germany, to Viennese parents. In 1938, to escape Hitler, her family moved to Sweden, and eventually to Mexico City. Love Letters, composed in 1979, comprises nine short movements, each one representing a mood or emotional experience associated with a romantic relationship.

“Dr. Mira Frisch and I selected Love Letters to perform because we enjoy collaborating together to play music like this piece which we consider to be an ‘unknown gem’ — meaning it is not well-known but is a great musical work, “ said Dr. Lindsey in a Gaston College press release. “We choose to play the music of composers who are not found in great numbers in the classical music realm. A majority of classical music was written by men of European descent who are no longer living. However, composer Ruth Schonthal, a woman of Jewish descent, was extraordinarily talented, and had a strong work ethic. Her connections to master teacher and composer, Paul Hindemith, allowed her to build a successful career in the United States and compose numerous musical works for keyboard, chamber music, orchestra, and opera.”

Schonthal is one of five women whose music Lindsey performs on her 2018 CD, Set No Limits: Music for Clarinet and Piano by Women Composers, released by Albany Records.