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In this episode of The Eternal Feminine Podcast Series, we discuss two women: English composer Liza Lehmann (1862-1918) and English poet Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943). Both women lived during the turn of the 19th century; Lehmann was the daughter of famed portrait painter Rudolph Lehmann and his wife Amelia, a singer, composer, and amateur artist. Liza Lehmann enjoyed a successful, if not short career as a concert singer, gaining the admiration of audiences at home and abroad. She began composing after her marriage to Herbert Bedford, an equally talented composer, writer, and inventor. Radclyffe Hall was a novelist and poet, best known for her novel The Well of Loneliness, which sought to raise awareness and understanding of lesbianism in society at large. Her first partner, Mabel Batten, was a well-known amateur singer and composer and it is likely due to this connection that Lehmann knew Radclyffe Hall and came to set her poetry.
Listen to the full podcast to hear our discussion of these two remarkable women and our recording of the piece “The Silver Rose.”
Read more about Liza Lehmann and Radclyffe Hall in “A Whole Lotta Lehmann” and “Trial by Tabloid”.
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