For the flutist wishing to perform music composed by women, this annotated catalog will come as a most welcome addition to the numerous flute bibliographies now available. Boenke has spent four years gleaning all possible sources to come up with several hundred listings of composers from three centuries and 40 different countries. When the information is available, she lists publisher and the OCLC system record number after the routinely listed title and instrumentation. In addition to the alphabetical listing are indexes for instrumentation, title, publisher, and composer. A short list of sources is heavy on LC and NUC catalogs as well as the several standard sources on women in music. This volume could serve as an example for instrument-specific music bibliographies. For flutists it is priceless. Choice
This book, an alphabetical listing of flute music by women composers, provides ready access to flute music that is published or available in manuscript form. Unlike any previous handbook of the flute repertoire, it is devoted entirely to the works of women, the vast majority of whom are not mentioned in the standard catalogs of flute literature. A carefully compiled study, the volume examines the quantity, variety, and scope of women’s work in this genre and includes composers from more than forty countries, spanning three centuries. It contains works for solo flute, duets, flute and piano, concertos, woodwind quintets, other chamber ensembles, or any work that employs soloistic use of the flute. It also provides biographical information on the composers, publishers, availability of works, and annotations on the works themselves. All compositions are indexed by title and by instrumentation, and publishers and contemporary composers are listed with current addresses, to facilitate the ordering of music.
The first published volume of its kind, this unusual work will draw attention to valuable and unknown repertoire in this genre and provide the opportunity for women’s works to be heard more often. It will be useful in all university music libraries and conservatories, and it will be a valuable resource for professional flutists, teachers of flute, and researcher in women’s studies.
