Wye Valley Music’s next concert by the Vita String Quartet is on Sunday, September 20th at the Glover Music School in Monmouth, next to the Glendower Street car park and opposite the Blake Theatre.

Winners of the prestigious Bridgewood & Neitzert Chamber Music Prize, the quartet receives coaching from the internationally acclaimed Carducci and Fibonacci Quartets. With their sensitive playing and innovative repertoire these recent graduates from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama are passionate about discovering and sharing music that has been overlooked, and their programme celebrates both the familiar and the lesser known, exploring different voices and perspectives from the Classical and Romantic repertoires.

Alongside works by Haydn and Beethoven, the concert highlights works by Emilie Mayer and Florence Price - two female composers whose music deserves to be more widely known. Programme: Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 76 No. 3 “Emperor” Emilie Mayer: String Quartet in A major Florence Price: String Quartet No. 1 Beethoven: String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4 Emilie Mayer (1812 – 1883) was a German romantic composer, one of the most prolific female composers of the 19th century.

Often called the "Female Beethoven," Mayer composed eight symphonies, many chamber works, piano sonatas and orchestral overtures. Despite the limited opportunities for women in professional music during her lifetime, Emilie achieved wide recognition with public performance of her music across Germany.

Florence Price (1887 – 1953) was an American composer, pianist, organist and teacher. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, she was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death. Price is the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. She composed over 300 works including symphonies, concertos, chamber music and songs.