Germaine Tailleferre

by Caroline Potter

Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983) is now remembered largely because she was a member of Les Six, a group of French composers active in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Tailleferre encountered many obstacles, most notably a difficult personal life including two brief marriages to men who were unsupportive of her musical career; it is also true that critics tended to focus on her gender rather than her musical style. This Element tells the fascinating story of Tailleferre's life and long career and, most significantly, explores the development of her musical style and her role in the development of neoclassicism in France. In recent years, international performers have rediscovered her appealing, lively music and have at last started to bring Tailleferre to wider audiences. This Element will contribute to the rediscovery of Tailleferre and will reveal her to be a significant force in twentieth-century French music.

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2026

Reviews

[Lissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful overview of Tailleferre's life and career that includes an analysis of her music (which has been missing from the literature)! I very much enjoyed learning about this remarkable woman and felt that the biography was well laid out and easily read. Here's to hoping that we will get more professional recordings of her music soon.