Klaviertrio Nr. 1 e-Moll

Emilie Mayer’s works cover a remarkable number of these “unfeminine” genres – 8 symphonies, 7 concert overtures (including the successful overture to Faust op. 46), a piano concerto, a “Rondo militaire” and a broad oeuvre of string and piano chamber music.

What is characteristic of the chronological and stylistic classification of Emilie Mayer’s works is her occupation with one or only a few genres over a longer period. Initially she wrote mainly Lieder with a singing voice – very much in keeping with her teacher Loewe. The 1st and 2nd symphonies also date from her early time in Stettin in the 1840s. The Symphony no. 3 in B minor, written in 1850, reveals an interest in Beethoven’s tonal language which is also discernible in the string quartets.

The eight string quartets contained in the bequest were written before 1858. Mayer’s compositional leanings towards Beethoven were motivated and endorsed by her teacher Adolf Bernhard Marx, who still exerted considerable influence over her during this period.