Helen Cawthorne A Woman's Hand

There has been an upsurge of interest over recent years in Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's life and work, prompted both by her bicentenary in 2005 and a more general impulse to re-examine undervalued and neglected female artists. Those who have been exposed to even a fraction of her work may need no further encouragement to explore this new recording of a generous selection of her shorter piano works. But if this is unfamiliar territory, or if the music has been assumed to be sentimental and pretty drawing-room stuff, it might prove to be a rather surprising and exceptionally satisfying discovery.

Pianist/composer and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow Helen Sung celebrates the work of influential women composers on her latest album Quartet+, crafting new arrangements of tunes by Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland and Toshiko Akiyoshi while carrying the tradition forward with her own stunning new works. Co-produced by violin master Regina Carter, the album pairs Sung’s quartet with the strings of the GRAMMY® Award-winning Harlem Quartet in an inventive meld of jazz and classical influences.

Pianist/composer and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow Helen Sung celebrates the work of influential women composers on her latest album Quartet+, crafting new arrangements of tunes by Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland and Toshiko Akiyoshi while carrying the tradition forward with her own stunning new works. Co-produced by violin master Regina Carter, the album pairs Sung’s quartet with the strings of the GRAMMY® Award-winning Harlem Quartet in an inventive meld of jazz and classical influences.