Discover the elegant, captivating world of Mel Bonis as the OM’s musicians continue their exploration of great women composers. Written in the early 20th century, Bonis’s works for flute and strings combine lyricism and a distinctly French sensitivity. From intimate miniatures to major quartets, her enchanting chamber music is gradually claiming its rightful place on the classical stage.

Hidden Gems by Mel Bonis

Outremont Theatre

The Hérodiade  project began to take shape in 1878 when Hartmann, Massenet's publisher, after rejecting Milliet's and the composer's own idea of ​​writing a love poem evoking the Song of Songs , proposed composing a play  inspired by Gustave Flaubert's famous work, Trois contes , published that year. The character of Salome had attracted many writers, including the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, who had considered a play  dedicated to his mother, Hérodiade, but had never completed the work, leaving fragments that others used as models. Following in his footsteps, other authors, including Oscar Wilde, Richard Strauss, and Paul Hindemith, had written about the perverse young girl Salome and her mother, Hérodiade. However, for Massenet's work, the model was undoubtedly that of Gustave Flaubert, to which he likely added excerpts from Renan's La Vie de Jésus  , particularly those relating to the story of John the Baptist and Herod's lineage, found in chapters six and twelve. When Hartmann proposed this subject, however, he asked that he himself sign the libretto under the pseudonym Grémont, also claiming the rights to it. After a few days, Massenet, Hartmann, and Milliet left for Milan not only to attend the production of Le roi de Lahore  at La Scala, but also to arrange with Ricordi for the performance of Hérodiade in Italy. It was decided that the opera would be performed simultaneously at La Scala and the Paris Opera, and at this point, a new signature was added to the libretto, that of Zanardini as translator. Massenet then worked for two and a half years on the opera, which he orchestrated in Pourville, and in 1881 he was able to show it to the new director of the Paris Opera, Vaucorbeil, who rejected it because he had little confidence in the quality of the libretto. The disappointed composer took back the score and left without any hope of seeing his opera performed, but, as he wrote in Mes souvenirs , fortune came to his aid in the person of Calabrési, director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, who asked him precisely for Hérodiade . Massenet himself recalled this meeting and the related proposal:

Massenet/Strauss/Bonis/Schmitt

Teatro Politeama Garibaldi

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, led by the acclaimed Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska, artistic director of the Opéra National de Lorraine, will present a rich and varied program where folk music, romanticism and drama meet in three magnificent works.

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Vara Concert Hall

Conductor Marta Gardolińska presents a rare French gem: Mel Bonis’ orchestral tribute to three legendary women. In addition, we hear Dvorák’s beloved Cello Concerto, with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s Claes Gunnarsson as soloist.

Dvorák Cello Concerto

Göteborgs Symfoniker

An afternoon concert in the Kuben with music composed for flute, cello and piano. Philip Gaubert's Trois aquarelles opens with three contrasting movements, followed by Lili Boulanger's D'un matin de printemps and two works by Guillaume Connesson – the energetic Toccata-Nocturne and a movement from Initial dances . 

Chamber Concert #3

Malmo Live Concert Hall

We're delighted to have Élisabeth Pion at The New School for a recital as part of the Mannes Summer Piano Festival!

EPSG:4326

Élisabeth Pion Piano Concert

The New School University Center

Female composers have long faced challenges, largely ignored by history. This year's chamber concert by the hr-Symphony Orchestra in Erbach offers the opportunity to experience several of them, showcasing their rich music and creative output. Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, and Rebecca Clarke are still familiar figures, but the same cannot be said for Isabella Leonarda, a 17th-century Italian nun who was among the most prolific composers of her era, or Marie Jaëll, a 19th-century French pianist and composer. The French composer Mélanie Bonis, whose works were mostly published under the pseudonym Mel Bonis in the 19th century, is also largely unknown in Germany, as is the Austrian Maria Theresia von Paradis, who was blind from childhood and a prominent figure in the Viennese Classical music scene as a pianist, singer, and composer. In this concert you can get to know them all, including Emilie Mayer, a 19th-century German composer who was celebrated during her lifetime as the "female Beethoven".

Women Power

Werner-Borchers-Halle

Chamber concert

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. Isabelle Jamois is a student of Marianne Gedigian. 

Isabelle Jamois, Flute

Alice Pratt Brown Hall

This chamber concert takes our premiere of Verdi's MACBETH as a thematic opportunity to shed light on power and power relations over the centuries and to look at composing in their field of tension. Experience a journey through time from Bach's "Musical Offering" to Haydn's "Emperor Quartet" and socialist realism.

Chamber Music II: Emperor, King.... Composer

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Acclaimed for their technical mastery and an extraordinarily sensitive – almost telepathic style – the Trio Wanderer is one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Called a “Wandering Star” by the Strad Magazine, the Trio has performed on the most prestigious music stages: Berlin’s Philharmonic, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Wiener Musikverein, London’s Wigmore Hall, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica, Washington’s Library of Congress, Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro Municipal, Tokyo’s Kioi Hall, Zürich’s Tonhalle and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Trio Wanderer

St Francis Episcopal Church

The Chamber Series is designed to showcase the artistry of Lansing Symphony musicians in a special setting and to introduce audiences to talented artists and classical programming. All Chamber Series concerts are performed at Molly Grove Chapel at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing.

Chamber 04: Piano Quartet

First Presbyterian Church of Lansing

Since forming in 2010, Neave Trio – violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura – has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting­edge performances. WQXR explains, “‘Neave’ is actually a Gaelic name meaning ‘bright’ and ‘radiant,’ both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making.” The group’s 2019 album Her Voice, on Chandos Records, was named one of the best recordings of the year by both The New York Times and BBC Radio 3. The Boston Musical Intelligencer reports, “it is inconceivable that they will not soon be among the busiest chamber ensembles going,” and “their unanimity, communication, variety of touch, and expressive sensibility rate first tier.”

Neave Trio

United Methodist Church Ridgecrest

Study concert with piano students under Marianna Shirinyan

Study concert with piano students

The Studio Hall

Sibelius Symphony No. 1

Oregon City

Belgian maestro Karel Deseure presents a feast of French talent as Mel Bonis – a favourite of Saint-Saëns – lends her lyrical musical voice to three female figures of historical, mythical and biblical legend. 20th-century pioneer Lili Boulanger also revels in the richness of religious texts, drawing on the pain and yearning in Psalm 130 to create her choral masterpiece. Songs of mourning give way to hymns of praise in a radiant performance of ‘Du fond de l'abîme’ by the Orchestra and Choir. And finally, that famous Persian queen returns in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

Scheherazade

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Written within a few years of one another and from three distinct points of view, these works illuminate contrasting inner worlds. For Szymanowski, his friendship with the great violinist Pavel Kochanski is manifested in the beauty of the second violin concerto. This happens to be Szymanowski’s final major composition but also the final work that Kochanski performed. Bonis reflects on the tragic lives of three of history’s most influential female heroines — Ophelia, Salome, Cleopatra. The human struggles represented by these women find a different echo in Rachmaninoff’s music, whose artistic contributions were always marked by self-doubt. Yet at the end of his Symphonic Dances — his final composition — he offers a statement of gratitude to the divine, writing “Hallelujah” in his manuscript just as the final chords appear.   

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Cincinnati Music Hall

Violinist Gil Shaham comes to Sacramento to perform Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable Violin Concerto, full of soaring melodies, virtuosity, and emotional fire. The evening also features Martinu’s vivid The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca and Bonis’s enchanting Femmes de légende, creating a night of artistry, drama, and unforgettable performances.

Mélanie Bonis

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 8, 2026

Scheherazade · Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

23 - 24 Apr, 2027

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances · Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

22 - 23 May, 2027

Gil Shaham Plays Tchaikovsky · Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera

Past events

Oct 27, 2026

Hidden Gems by Mel Bonis · Orchestre Métropolitain

29 - 30 May, 2026

Massenet/Strauss/Bonis/Schmitt · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

About

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