Violinist Esther Abrami performs ‘Valse Di Fantastica’ by Yoko Shimomura from the video game Final Fantasy XV. She performs with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Irene Delgado-Jiménez
’Like all teenagers, I played a bit of video games growing up and Yoko Shimomura was one of the first female composer I ever heard—though I didn’t realise it at the time,’ says Abrami. ’Her “Valse Fantastica” is so much fun to play!’
The work features on Abrami’s upcoming album Women for Sony Classical. The album will showcase works by a wide range of women composers, such as Oscar winners Rachel Portman and Anne Dudley, as well as new arrangements of compositions by historic composers such as Pauline Viardot, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Teresa Carreño and Ethel Smyth.
It will also feature a world-premiere recording of Ina Boyle’s late-Romantic Violin Concerto, Flowers by pop star Miley Cyrus, as well as the original composition Transmission by Abrami herself.
Abrami aims to highlight the often-overlooked voices of women in classical music in her album.
’For as far back as I can remember, the only classical music I ever came across was written by male composers. I studied classical music for over 15 years in some of the top music schools and conservatoires in the world. During those years I never played a single piece written by a woman.
’It wasn’t that I actively avoided them - I simply didn’t know they even existed! Nobody talked about them, nobody played their music, no one ever introduced me to their compositions.
’It took stepping out of my formal education to question this reality. ”Did any women ever compose classical music?” Turns out they did! Just when I thought I knew all about the main classical composers, I discovered a hidden treasure. I spent months researching, drawn into a whole new world of music and stories from women left in the shadows of history.’
Women will be released on 25 April 2025 on Sony Classical.
Photo credit: Hauskonzerte.
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