Lluïsa Casagemas i Coll (b. 13 Dec 1873, d. ? after 1930; one source says c. 1942) was a Catalan violinist, singer and composer. She was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and studied composition with Francesc de Paula Sánchez i Gavagnach and violin with

Agustí Torelló Agustí Torelló (1863–1932) was a Catalán violinist, conductor, composer and music teacher. He was born in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia on November 21, 1863, and died in Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. ...

. She began composing at an early age and made her debut as a composer in 1893 with a symphonic poem. Casagemas' opera ''Schiava e regina'' won a prize at the World Columbian Exposition in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1892; it has to be performed in 1893 at

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

, Barcelona; it would be the first opera by a woman performed there. However, an anarchist attack with a bomb interrupted the opera season and the theatre was closed for months. So, the opera was not performed; as a compensation for the author, several fragments were performed before the Spanish royal family in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1894. After, it was forgotten and never performed nor recorded. Afterward Casagemas sang her own compositions at the salon of novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán, and he introduced her to musical and literary society.

Works

Casagemas composed sacred and instrumental works and a few songs. Selected works include: *''Crepusculo'' for orchestra (1893) *''Schiava e regina'', opera (1879–1881) *''I briganti; Montserrat'', opera (op. 227)

Discography

* ''Compositores catalanes. Generació modernista'' (CD). Maria Teresa Garrigosa (soprano) and Heidrun Bergander (piano). La mà de guido. Dip.leg. B-45116-2008. Contains songs by

Narcisa Freixas Narcisa Freixas i Cruells (13 December 1859 – 20 December 1926) was a Catalan sculptor, painter and composer. She was born in Sabadell, Barcelona, the daughter of Pere Freixas Sabater, and first studied painting and sculpture with Modest Urge ...

, Carmen Karr, Isabel Güell i López, and Luisa Casagemas.

References

1863 births Year of death unknown 19th-century classical composers Spanish women classical composers Musicians from Catalonia Composers from Catalonia Spanish opera composers Opera composers from Catalonia Spanish classical composers People from Barcelona Women opera composers 19th-century women composers {{Spain-composer-stub