Luise Adolpha le Beau

The German composer, pianist and writer Luise Adolpha le Beau (1850–1927) was born in Rastatt and spent most of her life in south-west Germany, like her younger contemporary Clara Faisst. Scholar Martina Rebmann’s research has revealed that although Le Beau was a virtuoso pianist who regularly performed in German, Austrian and Dutch cities, she regarded herself primarily as a composer. Her father was a major general in the Baden war ministry and a devoted musical amateur who gave his only child her earliest piano lessons. In an unusual gender reversal, some of his works were later published under his daughter’s name. She was also able to attend a local girls’ school, at which she learned European languages. Local musicians in Karlsruhe gave her lessons in violin, singing and theory.

Le Beau lived with her parents lifelong. She possibly avoided marriage because it would deprive her of time and freedom to compose (although nothing is known about her sexuality). She also benefited from the unstinting professional support her father gave her. Although she had lessons with Clara Schumann during summer 1873, Annika Forkert’s study reminds us that Le Beau stopped after a few lessons because she and Schumann differed on both musical and personal issues.

A recommendation letter from Hans von Bülow led to a move to Munich in spring 1874, where Le Beau expanded her knowledge of harmony and counterpoint with Josef Rheinberger. Her Op. 1 (solo piano pieces) were published in 1876. However, according to university rules, she had to take her composition lessons separately from the men, thus blocking her access to an essential peer network. Still, Le Beau fought to develop her own compositional voice, moving from conservative Rheinberger to the more open-minded Franz Lachner. She allied herself artistically with the musical progressives, chiefly the circle around Liszt.

By 1878 Le Beau founded a private music school for girls, with the intention of giving them the means to be financially independent as music teachers. Alongside composition, she also began writing music criticism. By the 1880s, she had gained considerable renown, had won prizes and been given several public honours. Her works were regularly performed by elite ensembles in Munich, while she herself was still actively performing in other European cities.

The family’s decision to move to Wiesbaden in 1885 was decidedly a step backwards. Her memoirs recount the difficulties she faced in her immediate circles, yet her music was being performed as far as Sydney. Male critics insisted on describing her as ‘unique’ among women composers due to her interest in large forms, both isolating her and ignoring the existence of various female contemporaries and predecessors writing operas (Louise Bertin, Ingeborg von Bronsart) and symphonies (Louise Farrenc, Emilie Mayer).

A move to Berlin in 1890 for three years prompted a more concentrated focus on composition and access to the excellent Royal Library. In that year, Le Beau began her study of women composers from previous centuries, which appeared in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. However, she could not secure performances of large works and was blocked from a professorship at the Royal Music School because of her gender.

When she was 43, Le Beau moved with her parents to Baden-Baden. Thanks to the support of the Grand Duchess Louise of Baden, some of her large works were finally heard. After her parents’ deaths in 1896 and 1900, she suffered from the lack of support. Performances of large works were systematically blocked by local committees, leading Le Beau finally to retreat from composition and focus on criticism. She also believed that practising the two professions simultaneously would result in a conflict of interest (a fact which had worried neither Robert Schumann nor Hector Berlioz). She grew disillusioned with the music scene, describing her experiences of gender discrimination in her memoir, Lebenserinnerungen einer Komponistin (1910, reprinted 1999). At the time of writing, it is not digitally accessible. She also wrote accounts of her regular travels in Italy.

Le Beau generally performed, composed and reviewed for no money because that was the only way she could secure that experience. Within her society, she would have been expected to be grateful for the opportunities. Most men would not have tolerated her being paid, and society on the whole frowned on professional women. As a result, by 1914, Le Beau’s funds had dwindled, forcing her to resume teaching and move to a smaller apartment. She performed regularly in Baden-Baden after World War I; in 1922, she finally received a pension from the father of an ex-pupil. She died aged 77. Her papers and manuscripts are held mainly in the Badische Landesbibliothek Karlsruhe and the Staatsbibliothek Berlin.

Annika Forkert argues that Le Beau’s professional difficulties lay, to some extent, in her own uncompromising nature. Yet she composed tenaciously, in all genres, from song to symphony, as documented by Martina Rebmann. Alongside other small-scale genres, Le Beau’s Lieder were the most frequently published works during her lifetime, albeit often several years after composition. The list of songs below shows the years of composition and publication separated by a slash.

Le Beau’s songs include 39 solo Lieder, composed over roughly fifty years: Five Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano Op. 4 (1866-71/1877); Two Duets for Soprano and Alto Op. 6 (1868/1877), Five Lieder Op. 7 (1875/1877); Five Lieder Op. 11 (1876/1880); Three Lieder Op. 14 (1875-77/1880); Three Lieder Op. 18 (actually five songs, 1878-9); Three Lieder Op. 33 (1879/1884); Three Lieder Op. 39 (1884-90/1892), Three Lieder Op. 45 (1898); Three Duets Op. 50 (1882-99, unpublished); Two Songs Op. 56 (1901-3, unpublished); Three Italian songs Op. 58 (1903, unpublished); and a final setting of a poem by Theodor Storm in 1912, also unpublished. Her choice of poets spans favourites such as Emanuel Geibel and Joseph von Eichendorff, but she also set various contemporary figures.

Le Beau’s musical style shows great variety, moving between conservative and rhapsodic idioms. Her interest in earlier music is audible in elegant, spare accompaniments. However, within the same opus, she crafts programmatic, expressive textures to clothe rich harmonies. Her songs with obligato violin Op. 45 are especially rewarding. More publications, performances and recordings are needed before her legacy can be fully assessed.

© Natasha Loges, 2025