The album ‘Rita Strohl – Vol. 3’ is the third instalment of a series of releases from the label, La Boîte à Pépites, offering a comprehensive overview of Strohl’s diverse compositions for orchestra

Rita Strohl is an outstanding figure in the history of music and a visionary composer of the “fin de siècle”. Throughout her life, she placed more value on her compositional work and her spirituality than on the success of her music.

The sudden death of her husband Émile Strohl in 1900, who died as a result of blood poisoning, led to an intensified search for closeness to nature in her music.

From the 1900s onwards, her deep mystical interest inspired compositions drawing on spiritual themes, from Celtic legends to Christian myths which led her to compose works like the Symphonie de la Forêt , Les Cygnes (for orchestra and voice) or Yajnavalkya, a Sacred mystery in three acts for orchestra. This third album brings these works and more back to life, thanks to the Orchestre national d’île-de-France under the direction of chief conductor Case Scaglione and the support of mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot and soprano Marie Perbost.

The label’s series on Rita Strohl previously included ‘Rita Strohl – Vol. 1 Vocal Music’ (October 2023) and ‘Rita Strohl – Vol. 2 Chamber Music’ (September 2024). When combined, the three releases offer almost seven hours of unknown, unreleased, magnificent music performed by exceptional artists including soloists Elsa Dreisig, Romain Louveau, Olivia Dalric, Célia Oneto Bensaid, Stéphane Degout, Edgar & Raphaëlle Moreau, and Shuichi Okada.

The French Label La Boîte à Pépites, is backed by the ELLES Women Composers association, founded in 2020 by cellist Heloïse Luzzati, which aims to highlight works by female composers that have rarely or never been recorded, following a rigorous and thorough research process.

In some cases, little to no information exists about these female composers. However, thanks to careful research in the archives and visits to the descendants of the composers (where they gain access to unpublished documents and letters), Heloïse and her team get to reconstruct the lives and fascinating careers of these women composers and bring them back on the map. The discovered informations are finally presented in colourful and entertainings videos, such as this one about Rita Strohl.

For more information on this release visit La Boîte à Pépites website here, and click here to listen to ‘Rita Strohl – Vol.3’.