I have had men in my life comment, ‘surely everything’s equal now’, but when a new release album has a world-premiere recording of an important 1956 piece by a prominent female composer, it reminds me that, no, not everything is equal yet. It emphasises how important series such as these Women of Note albums are to the wider world of music-making.

Released to coincide with International Women’s Day on 8 March, this album showcases how diverse and, not to put too fine a point on it, epic Australian women composers are right here and now. There are 14 different women featured on this album, including First Nations composers Brenda Gifford and Lou Bennett and a 1975 recording of Miriam Hyde as soloist in her Second Piano Concerto.

In my opinion, the centrepiece is the Flinders Quartet’s recent world premiere recording of Margaret Sutherland’s 1956 Quartet for Cor Anglais and Strings. How this piece has been overlooked by history I’ll never know, but at least we have a stunning recording now. I also love the inclusion of jazz composer Andrea Keller and the piece ‘Birds of Heaven’ by Rosalind Page to show the true expansive abilities of many different women. What a treat this album is, and what an important project to continue.

Kate Rockstrom is a friend of Readings.