Variations on a Laundry Song, a piece for piano solo composed by MMTA member Deborah Yardley Beers, was performed by Jonathan Levin at the fourth annual Music by Women Festival. The festival took place on March 7, 2020 in Poindexter Hall at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. This four-day festival featured both contemporary and historical music by women from around the world.
On its deepest level, Variations on a Laundry Song expresses and embraces conflicted feelings towards famous white men who played important roles in shaping the culture in which we live today. In the central variation, “Reflective Fantasy: Who Did Beethoven’s Laundry?” reflection is depicted by appearances of the themes in contrary motion. The words “Beethoven’s laundry”, unspoken in performance, are set in the score to a theme derived from the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. On a superficial level, though, the piece is about carrying, scrubbing, kneading, washing machines, and other laundry images.