101 Clarinet Compositions Written by Women Composers

Happy Women’s History Month!

To celebrate, here are 101 clarinet compositions written by female composers. I know there are many more wonderful works than the ones I’ve included here, so I am planning on making this a multi-part series. Leave a comment below with your favorite piece(s) for me to include on the next part!

By the way, if you want to learn more about female clarinet history, here are some other articles I’ve written you might be interested in reading:

• Famous Female Clarinetists Throughout History
• 100 Famous Female Clarinetists
• 100 More Famous Female Clarinetists
• Clarinet method and étude books written by women
• Clarinet HERstory – Eileen Tranmer; Caroline Schleicher-Krähmer

Without further ado, here are 101 clarinet compositions written by female composers!

1. Eleanor Alberga – Duo from Dancing With the Shadow
2. Anna Amalia (Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) – Divertimento for clarinet, viola, cello, and piano
3. Mary Jeanne van Appledorn – Reeds Afire for clarinet and bassoon
4. Violet Archer – Sonata for clarinet and piano
5. Francine Aubin – Pièce en forme de Jazz (No. 1)
6. Grażyna Bacewicz – Polish Caprice for clarinet and piano
7. Grażyna Bacewicz – Wiwat (taniec wielkopolski) No. 1 for clarinet and string quartet
8. Regina Harris Baiocchi – Chassé
9. Regina Harris Baiocchi – Karibu
10. Marion Bauer – Duo for Oboe and Clarinet, Op. 25
11. Carolyn Bremer – Sonata for clarinet and piano
12. Jane Brockman – Circles in the Sun for clarinet and electronics
13. Margaret Brouwer – Concerto for Clarinet
14. Unsuk Chin – Concerto for Clarinet
15. Rebecca Clarke – Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale for clarinet and viola
16. Ann Cleare – eyam i (it takes an ocean not to) for solo clarinet
17. Valerie Coleman – Red Clay and Mississippi Delta for clarinet quartet
18. Valerie Coleman – Sonatina for clarinet and piano
19. Yvonne Desportes – Trois petits contes
20. Deborah Drattell – Clarinet Concerto “Fire Dances”
21. Marti Epstein – Origami for bass clarinet and marimba
22. Louise Farrenc (née Jeanne-Louise Dumont) – Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano, Op. 44
23. Sarah Feigin – Fantasy for clarinet and piano
24. Keiko Fujiie – 3 Pieces, Op. 5
25. Ida Gotkovsky – Image de Norvège (No. 2)
26. Ida Gotkovsky – Sonata for solo clarinet
27. Marie Félicie Clémence de Grandval – Deux Pièces
28. Mary Ann Griebling – Wild Wood-Quiet Wood
29. Barbara Heller – Herbstmusik; Autumn Music; Mariendistel; Lady’s Thistle
30. Augusta Holmes – Fantasie
31. Sungji Hong – Bisbiglio for clarinet, flute, and piano
32. Katherine Hoover – Concerto
33. Miriam Hyde – Legend for clarinet and piano
34. Miriam Hyde – Sonata for clarinet and piano
35. Lina Järnegard – Emellanåt, stundom (occasionally, sometimes) for clarinet, cello, and piano
36. Betsy Jolas – Episode No.9 “Forte magnum colaraturum”
37. Elena Kats-Chernin – Ornamental Air for Basset Clarinet and Orchestra
38. Elena Kats-Chernin – Three Short Pieces for solo clarinet
39. Hannah Kendall – Vera for clarinet and string trio
40. Barbara Kolb – Related Characters
41. Caroline Schleicher Kraemer – Sonatina
42. Esther Lamneck – Crack Hammer
43. Mary Jane Lang – Wispy Clouds for clarinet and piano
44. Libby Larsen – Dancing Solo
45. Tania León – entre nos for clarinet, bassoon, and piano
46. Catherine Likhuta – Motions for clarinet and piano
47. Liza Lim – Inguz for clarinet in A and cello
48. Liza Lim – Sonorous Body for solo clarinet
49. Elisabeth Lutyens – Five Little Pieces
50. Elizabeth Maconchy – Clarinet Quintet
51. Theresa Martin – Gryphon
52. Jessica Mays – On Shapes and Figures for bass clarinet and string quartet
53. Christine McCombe – Threefold : three pieces for three clarinets
54. Dorothy Rudd Moore – Night Fantasy for clarinet and piano
55. Undine Smith Moore – Introduction and Allegro for clarinet and piano
56. Joyce Solomon Moorman – Clarinet Quintet
57. Chikako Morishita – Lizard (shadow) for solo clarinet
58. Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar – Trzy miniatury (Three Miniatures)
59. Thea Musgrave – Concerto
60. Blythe Owen – Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon, Op. 18
61. Zenobia Powell Perry – Sonata for clarinet and piano
62. Zenobia Powell Perry – Sound Patterns for clarinet and narrator
63. Zenobia Powell Perry – Two Letters for clarinet, cello, and piano
64. Deon Nielsen Price – Clariphonia for clarinet in A, basset horn, soprano clarinet, contrabass clarinet, and chamber orchestra
65. Florence Price – Moods for clarinet, flute, and piano (Update December 2023: The score to this piece has been donated to the University of Arkansas Libraries.)
66. Ivy Priaulx Rainier – Suite
67. Shulamit Ran – For an Actor: Monologue for solo clarinet
68. Shulamit Ran – Three Scenes for solo clarinet
69. Marga Richter – Sonata for clarinet and piano
70. Jeanine Rueff – Concertino
71. Marjorie Maxine Rusche – Mood Etudes for two clarinets
72. Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen – Romanze for clarinet and piano
73. Ruth Schönthal – Sonata Concertante for clarinet and piano
74. Ruth Crawford Seeger – Four Diaphonic Suites, No. 3 for two clarinets
75. Johanna Senfter – Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
76. Jeanne E. Shaffer – Three Faces of Women
77. Alex Shapiro – Deep for solo contrabass clarinet with audio track
78. Anita Sleeman – Two Pieces for clarinet and piano
79. Alice Mary Smith – Sonata in A
80. Lisa Streich – Asche for clarinet and cello
81. Stella Sung – Abstractions for basset clarinet and piano
82. Stella Sung – Dimensions Two for clarinet and piano
83. Stella Sung – Three Songs for clarinet, soprano, and piano
84. Margaret Sutherland – Sonata for clarinet and piano
85. Germaine Tailleferre – Arabesque for clarinet and piano
86. Tina Ternes – Flug der Schwalben; Swallows in Flightalben; Swallows in Flight
87. Joan Tower – Wings for solo clarinet
88. Helena Tulve – Saar for clarinet and violin
89. Sakari Dixon Vanderveer – Two Thoughts and a Fixation for solo clarinet
90. Errollyn Wallen – Fairy Scary for clarinet, voice, cello, and piano
91. Errollyn Wallen – Skip for clarinet and piano
92. Lawren Brianna Ware – Recollection and Anticipation for clarinet, viola, and harp
93. Eva Wasserman-Margolis – Ode to Odessa for solo clarinet
94. Mary D. Watkins – Piece For Woodwind Trio for clarinet, flute, and bassoon
95. Norma Wendelburg – Concerto
96. Dolores White – Song Cycle for clarinet and soprano
97. Lin Yang – Nach Norden for solo bass clarinet
98. Chen Yi – Chinese Ancient Dances
99. Judith Lang Zaimont – Astral for solo clarinet
100. Marilyn J. Ziffrin – Concerto
101. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Concerto 

Other resources:

• Here is a wonderful collection of clarinet music by women composers from Schott.
• Check out Heather Roche’s article (and the rest of her blog), where I learned about some wonderful new-to-me pieces.