Guest Blogger: Denise Dillenbeck
The following is a blog post from the perspective of violinist Denise Dillenbeck, for whom I am writing the new violin concerto, Immortal Beloved! She just penned a beautiful letter in support of the project, and I’m compelled to share excerpts here. In Denise’s own words:
As a woman in leadership roles in several orchestras, it has been a priority to me to highlight the capabilities and contributions of women. As a young person, I had felt pushed to the side and was ready to leave the orchestra world, but I had the great fortune of coming into contact with Jorja Fleezanis, one of the first female concertmasters of a top orchestra in our nation. Seeing her do her job transformed my concept of what my future could hold. I want to continue to shine a light on women’s struggles to break out of the limitations society has traditionally placed on them. I want young people to see examples of women leaders in music, and to hear powerful works by women performed. And I want to open a space to dialogue as a community about this history.
Composer Nancy Ives also has a passion for this work. She and I formed a partnership, as we discussed a way to bring this conversation to the public in a new work. We seized on the idea of a piece written about the women who might have been the intended recipient of Beethoven’s famous “Immortal Beloved” letter. Beethoven is the most well-known composer of all time, and this letter has remained as a fascinating mystery for over two centuries. But the women who historians have proposed as candidates for the Immortal Beloved have remained unknown to the public. The ways that they were constrained by the roles society allowed them to play led them down harrowing paths, being bargained off by families into unhappy but socially-approved marriages, suffering abuse, having their children taken from them. And while things have changed since 1812, we still see women fighting issues like these now around the world. So this story seemed ripe for bringing attention to these characters, to the history of women and their strength and autonomy.
The Immortal Beloved Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Nancy Ives is set to be premiered by Northwest Sinfonietta in January 2025. As our Executive Director, Karin Choo, plans the details of the concert week, we are looking at local women’s groups to partner with, in order to open spaces for discussion, reaction and expression in the community. I am so excited to be part of this important work coming to life.