Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), French composer and part of the collective Les Six together with Poulenc, Milhaud, Honegger, Auric and Durey. Perhaps the most fun way to get to know the collective is through the ballet Les mairés de la tour Eiffel, where the composers wrote a few movements each. Tailleferre’s contributions are Valse de depeches and Quadrille.
Tailleferre’s list of ca 400 compositions include a wide array of music for both large and small occasions, both concert and stage, as well as TV and film. She received many commissions from ballets like Diaghliev’s Ballet Russe and Ballet Suédois, her Le marchand d’oiseaux being the latter’s biggest success.
Her long life gave her the opportunity to develop with her times but even pieces like e.g. the harp sonata and the solo clarinet sonata that were both composed the same year (1957) couldn’t be more different, clearly she had many colours on her musical palette.
Her enormous output means that everyone can find something to play by her. I have collected a few of the pieces that I love in the playlist below (every time I come back here I have new favourites…right now it is the piano trio and the ballade for piano and orchestra!)