Something that has greatly perplexed me of late is the relative paucity of female composers during the Classical period (c. 1750-1830). In my research into Renaissance and Baroque music, I discovered no end of lady composer-performers; the Romantic era, too, produced some of the best-known female composers, from Clara Schumann to Amy Beach. Hours of research into the classical period, however, unearthed only Marianna Martines and the regrettable near-success story of Nannerl Mozart--so I decided to delve further into the causes of this unfortunate circumstance.
It turns out that it's actually incredibly difficult to Google anything related to the classical era; my preliminary searches almost exclusively returned articles relating to that vague monolith, "Classical Music." When I broadened my search to the general subject of women in the late 18th and early 19th century, however, the results were much more fruitful, and I was able to extrapolate some of my findings to the realm of music. Whereas the Renaissance was an age of flamboyant creative energy, much of which carried over into the Baroque era's inspired reinvention, the classical period was marked by a particular focus on restraint, propriety, and, for women, demure domesticity. For the first time, public concerts became a central feature of musical society, and a woman's participation in this professional setting was far less seemly than the church and court appearances that had hitherto predominated; the few females who did have the chance to perform publicly were often required (usually by a male relative) to give up their musical ambitions in their teens, lest they compromise their marriageability. Women throughout Europe retreated from the great conservatories of music to the leafy conservatories and drawing rooms of their own homes; their musicianship was reduced to a trick for house parties, a mere ornament to set off their pretty faces. Indeed, for a woman in the classical period, infamy would have been a far easier achievement than self-made distinction. An "accomplished" young woman was one who could claim competence at keyboard or singing, make charming conversation, and fit nicely into her corsets--any forays into professional circles would attract scandal and widespread disapproval.
At first glance, the classical period, with its restrained and delicate ethos so perfectly suited to the feminine ideal of the time, seems like it would have provided a whole generation of women with a safe and respectable means of entering the musical profession. It is a shame, then, that the system should have worked in reverse; rather than strengthen the affinity between the fairer sex and the finer arts, it excluded women from the musical field for decades.
Borroff, E. (1975). Women Composers: Reminiscence and History. College Music Symposium 15, 26-33. Retrieved January 18 from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40375087
Matthijs, K. (2003). Demographic and Sociological Indicators of Privatisation of Marriage in the 19th Century in Flanders. European Journal of Population / Revue Européenne de Démographie 19(4), 375-412. Retrieved January 19 from http://apps.emmawillard.org:2093/stable/20164243
It turns out that it's actually incredibly difficult to Google anything related to the classical era; my preliminary searches almost exclusively returned articles relating to that vague monolith, "Classical Music." When I broadened my search to the general subject of women in the late 18th and early 19th century, however, the results were much more fruitful, and I was able to extrapolate some of my findings to the realm of music. Whereas the Renaissance was an age of flamboyant creative energy, much of which carried over into the Baroque era's inspired reinvention, the classical period was marked by a particular focus on restraint, propriety, and, for women, demure domesticity. For the first time, public concerts became a central feature of musical society, and a woman's participation in this professional setting was far less seemly than the church and court appearances that had hitherto predominated; the few females who did have the chance to perform publicly were often required (usually by a male relative) to give up their musical ambitions in their teens, lest they compromise their marriageability. Women throughout Europe retreated from the great conservatories of music to the leafy conservatories and drawing rooms of their own homes; their musicianship was reduced to a trick for house parties, a mere ornament to set off their pretty faces. Indeed, for a woman in the classical period, infamy would have been a far easier achievement than self-made distinction. An "accomplished" young woman was one who could claim competence at keyboard or singing, make charming conversation, and fit nicely into her corsets--any forays into professional circles would attract scandal and widespread disapproval.
At first glance, the classical period, with its restrained and delicate ethos so perfectly suited to the feminine ideal of the time, seems like it would have provided a whole generation of women with a safe and respectable means of entering the musical profession. It is a shame, then, that the system should have worked in reverse; rather than strengthen the affinity between the fairer sex and the finer arts, it excluded women from the musical field for decades.
Borroff, E. (1975). Women Composers: Reminiscence and History. College Music Symposium 15, 26-33. Retrieved January 18 from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40375087
Matthijs, K. (2003). Demographic and Sociological Indicators of Privatisation of Marriage in the 19th Century in Flanders. European Journal of Population / Revue Européenne de Démographie 19(4), 375-412. Retrieved January 19 from http://apps.emmawillard.org:2093/stable/20164243