Rita Strohl (1865–1941)

There are women composers whose rediscovery comes as a surprise. And then there are those whose disappearance from musical memory seems almost unimaginable. Rita Strohl undoubtedly belongs to the latter category.

During her lifetime, the French composer was admired by major musical figures such as Pablo Casals and Jane Bathori. Her works were discussed in Belle Époque France and inspired critics both to fervent praise and passionate opposition. Yet today, her name remains largely unknown even among devoted music lovers. This is all the more remarkable given the extraordinary breadth of her oeuvre, which ranges from exquisitely crafted songs and dazzlingly virtuosic chamber music to vast, visionary music dramas.

A free spirit from the beginning

Born in Lorient, Brittany, in 1865, Rita Strohl grew up in an artistically minded environment. Her exceptional musical talent became apparent at an early age and led her to the Paris Conservatoire. Yet even as a young composer, she consistently pursued her own path. Literary inspirations, spiritual questions, and a profound connection to nature permeate her entire output. After the early death of her first husband, she increasingly turned towards philosophical and mystical themes, conceiving monumental cycles of works whose scope surpassed even that of Richard Wagner. At the same time, she remained a master of intimacy, poetry, and subtle tonal nuance.

It is precisely this combination of personal expressiveness, formal independence, and imaginative sound-worlds that makes her music so compelling today. Strohl’s works defy easy categorisation. They stand between French late Romanticism and Symbolism, between salon elegance and visionary exuberance. Again and again, they surprise through unexpected turns, richly coloured sonic landscapes, and a distinctive gift for musical storytelling.

Revealing a remarkable Diversity

The Musikdorf presents Rita Strohl in the full richness of her stylistic range. The Barcarolle from the piano cycle Musiques sur l’eau offers a glimpse into the composer’s poetic affinity with nature. Her chamber works, including the early String Quartet in G minor, the Piano Quartet in D minor, the Piano Trio in D minor, and the beautiful clarinet trio Arlequin et Colombine, reveal a composer of remarkable technical assurance and melodic invention. With the large-scale Sonate dramatique «Titus et Bérénice», we encounter an artist who distilled literary subjects into chamber music of almost operatic intensity.

Rita Strohl’s gifts are perhaps nowhere more strikingly revealed than in her songs. Her settings of poems by Baudelaire and Verlaine combine exceptional sensitivity to language with extraordinary sonic refinement. A particular highlight is the cycle Bilitis (after poems by Pierre Louÿs), composed in close proximity to Claude Debussy’s celebrated settings and ranking among the most convincing contributions to musical Symbolism of its time.

Rita Strohl was an uncompromising individualist who paid little attention to aesthetic fashions. For that very reason, her music sounds astonishingly fresh and untouched today. Those who encounter her work discover not merely a forgotten composer deserving of revival, but an artistic voice of genuine originality. The Composer to Discover project 2027 invites audiences to explore this fascinating oeuvre anew and perhaps to understand why the rediscovery of Rita Strohl is long overdue.

The following works of Rita Strohl will be performed 2027 at the Festival Musikdorf Ernen:

Friday, 9 July, 8 pm | Piano Recital Tähe-Lee Liiv
«Barcarolle» from Musiques sur l’eau (1903)

Sunday, 8 August |  Kammermusikfest
3 pm: Introduction by Jonathan Inniger on Strohl's life and work
6 pm: Arlequin et Colombine for Clarinet, Violoncello and Piano (1898)

Tuesday, 10 August, 8 pm | Kammermusikfest
Five Songs on Poems by Baudelaire (1894)

Thursday, 12 August, 8 pm | Kammermusikfest
Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano No. 2 D minor (1888)

Saturday, 11 September, 8 pm | Lisa Tourniaire, Soprano, and Mathis Calzetta, Piano
«Les remords», «Bilitis» and «La nuit» from Bilitis (1898)
«Chanson d’automne» and «Moulin à vent» from Dix poésies mises en musique (1901)

Sunday, 12 September, 2 pm | Jiayi Liu and Mikołaj Woźniak
Sonate dramatique «Titus et Bérénice» for Violoncello and Piano (1898)

Sunday, 24 Oktober, 2 pm | Moser String Quartet
String Quartet G minorl (1884)

Saturday, 13 November, 5 pm | Wendel Quartet
Piano Quartet D minor (1891)