Articles

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:


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.

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