Sonata in a, op.18 - BSN/PN

Sonata in a, op.18
for bassoon and piano
by Emilie Mayer (1812-1883) - German composer

Transcribed by Rachel Frederiksen from the original for violin.

Allegro con brio
Adagio
Andante
Allegro con brio

piano part - 50 pages
bassoon part - 15 pages

Emilie Mayer was the daughter of an apothecary. Like many affluent girls in this time, she received piano lessons from a young age. Mayer was unique compared to most women as she got older because she was encouraged to dabble in composing, initially with Carl Loewe, and was not pressured to marry as she never became a wife. It was not until later in life and after her father took his own life that she pursued a composition career path with force. In 1847, she moved to Berlin, where she began lessons in counterpoint with Adolf Berhard Marx and orchestration with Wilhelm Wieprecht. After many successful in-house premieres, Mayer traveled around Europe with her brothers in an effort to get her music performed in public and published. She was, by far, the most famous German woman composer during her lifetime. However, little of Mayer’s music was published and it has gone unperformed since her death in 1883. She wrote a singspiel (Die Fischerin), several symphonies and symphonic overtures, and numerous choral, solo voice, and instrumental works. In addition to composing, she was a sculptor, and many of her sculptures are in collections across Europe to this day.

Dr. Rachel Frederiksen is an active freelance bassoonist and educator from New Braunfels, TX. She currently teaches a large studio in the San Antonio area and serves as second bassoonist for the Symphony of the Hills orchestra in Kerrville, TX. As an artist, Dr. Frederiksen is a collaborator on Ricardo Lorenz’s chamber CD, Open Borders, which was released in December 2020. She also performed at the 2019 International Double Reed Society in Tampa, FL. Her research interests not only include the life and contributions of Emilie Mayer, but also include investigating best practices to how people from many age brackets learn effectively.

She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University under the tutelage of Prof. Michael Kroth. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Texas Lutheran University and a Master of Music and Master of Music Education degrees from Baylor University, where she was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Fraternity. When she is not busy teaching, performing, or reed-making, you can find Dr. Frederiksen hanging out with friends or helping her parents with their many basset hounds and cats.