Why do we hear so little music by women composers?

[jean]

...asks Anna Beer on Radio 4 this evening.

I loved the anecdote she started with - someone requested Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman on Classic FM.

But having announced it, what they played was Fanfare for the Common Man.

[teamsaint]

...asks Anna Beer on Radio 4 this evening.

I loved the anecdote she started with - someone requested Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman on Classic FM.

But having announced it, what they played was Fanfare for the Common Man.

I used to have a vague idea that women preferred a solo or individual approach to music, pop music at least, which might have been a reaction to an exisiting male band culture, or perhaps the difficulty of getting a dominant voice within a group setting.
But of course this would fail as a theory if applied to the (mostly) individual activity of Classical type composition.

gender bias is not common to all areas of musical life, obviously.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Clara Schumann had no difficulty in making her name as an outstanding pianist, but her fine compositions are still rarely heard today.

[Bryn]

Which Towering Fanfare did the listener request? I am familiar with five, and for all I know she may have composed more since Marin Alsop's recordings of those.

[Hornspieler]

I used to have a vague idea that women preferred a solo or individual approach to music, pop music at least, which might have been a reaction to an exisiting male band culture, or perhaps the difficulty of getting a dominant voice within a group setting.
But of course this would fail as a theory if applied to the (mostly) individual activity of Classical type composition.

gender bias is not common to all areas of musical life, obviously.

I just think that most women find something better to do with their time.

HS

[teamsaint]

I just think that most women find something better to do with their time.

HS

Theory down drain......

[jean]

Which Towering Fanfare did the listener request? I am familiar with five, and for all I know she may have composed more since Marin Alsop's recordings of those.

We weren't told - but whichever it was, it wasn't by Copland.

[Bryn]

By the way, Fanfares 1, 2 and 3 may be viewed and listened to on YouTube, each performed by a different mainly male ensemble.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The situation of the Composer is similar to that of the visual artist: it requires training from an early age, and encouraging criticism during that training. Such training was denied to the vast majority of women until the 20th Century (exceptions tend to be found only in families of professional Musicians, such as Fanny Mendelssohn or Clara Schumann) - and even in the exceptions, the expectation was that the Art would be sacrificed to the "proper" business of raising a family. The patriarchal society also patronized (in the wrong sense!) women composers' achievements, creating an implicit sense in women that they could never be expected to produce anything higher than second-rate. Any human, no matter how strong-willed, cannot thrive as a creative being without genuine, critical endorsement of what they're doing.

So it isn't until the 20th Century that women begin to emerge from this stifling psychological environment - and it is Music from the 20th Century onwards that is least "enjoyed" (or programmed) by the majority of enthusiasts for the Musics of the Western Classical traditions.

[french frank]

So it isn't until the 20th Century that women begin to emerge from this stifling psychological environment - and it is Music from the 20th Century onwards that is least "enjoyed" (or programmed) by the majority of enthusiasts for the Musics of the Western Classical traditions.

And as pop music has taken over as the dominant genre, women's voices (physical and abstract) are heard, from Joni Mitchell to Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Bjork, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga - some of the biggest names in the business are women ... :-/

[Barbirollians]

Women composers have come much more to the fore in the 20th century it is very true . Consider Rebecca Clarke, Maconchy, Smythe, Grace Williams, Judith weir , Thea Musgrave etc etc etc

[kea]

And as pop music has taken over as the dominant genre, women's voices (physical and abstract) are heard, from Joni Mitchell to Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Bjork, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga - some of the biggest names in the business are women ... :-/

Yes, we hear lots of music by women composers. It's only in the classical music world, with its inordinate focus on dead white males, that women(, minorities, living people) are made to feel unwelcome.

For an example of the "average classical listener"'s attitude towards women, I saw this series of posts the other day.

[Pabmusic]

...Such training was denied to the vast majority of women until the 20th Century (exceptions tend to be found only in families of professional Musicians, such as Fanny Mendelssohn or Clara Schumann) - and even in the exceptions, the expectation was that the Art would be sacrificed to the "proper" business of raising a family...

Only too true. Parallels exist in so many fields.

[french frank]

For an example of the "average classical listener"'s attitude towards women

Though in that case not towards the "average woman musician". How far does the "average classic listener" (male or female) hold with the "If you've got it, flaunt it" aphorism when it comes to classical musicians? I would say it's not appreciated, as being just another way of that the performer tries to upstage the composer/music/performance - a parallel to what some people feel about Nigel Kennedy. Or Cameron Carpenter.

[Dave2002]

Was it not the case that Mahler married Alma on condition that she gave up composing? http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Mahler He may have changed his mind later though.

I'm not sure that Mendelssohn was so negative towards his sister.