Harriet Krijgh & Friends: a Rainbow of Romantic Music

Tchaikovsky

There is a suspicion that various composers were homosexual. Did Handel, Lully, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, and Schubert, for example, fall for someone of the same sex? In any case, they lived in a time and society where they would not have been able to come out. Some subtly revealed their orientation in their work, while others kept it secret. Musicologists still wonder whether clues regarding their orientation can be found in their works. Is the ending of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, for instance, a reference to the impossibility of being openly gay?

Glitter and Be Gay

It was not until the twentieth century that composers such as Bernstein, Britten, Cage, Poulenc, and Copland were open about their love for men. Bernstein allowed his identity to resurface in his work, as evidenced by the proud *Glitter and Be Gay*. In this program by cellist Harriet Krijgh, works by queer- and queer-friendly composers are performed, and it is explained how their identity and the spirit of the times influenced their music. Featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Barber, Ethel Smyth, Reynaldo Hahn, and John Lennon, among others.