The same can be said about female composers - writers don't seem to have too bad a time by comparison. When I was at school I could name three female composers, Elizabeth Maconchy, Elizabeth Lutyens and Clara Schumann, which is sad when you think about how many male composers there are out there. Now I make a point of buying female composers and I have quite a collection but I think I may have one piece by Lutyens - not even a whole album - and nothing by either of the others simply because I've never run across them.
Jim - How about Amy Beach? When I see things like this, it makes me want to get off the computer and finish my One Woman Show - (same title as my renovation blog - ReDoingTheUndone) There's a delicate line between whining and a truly feminist expression.
Yes, I have a symphony and a piano concerto by her but I only learned of her after I left school, years after. The simple fact was that I lived in a town without a proper record store and so had to rely on Boots and Menzies to meet my requirements but even later when I discovered HMV and Virgin it's always the same-ol' composers all the time. It's really only since I've had access to the Internet that I've been able to get my hands on the kind of music that interests me at an affordable price because the odd time I did run across something unusual it was generally full price and I rarely fork out the full price for anything if I can afford it. Wikipedia has a list of female composers and it is depressing how few I've actually heard of.
The same can be said about female composers - writers don't seem to have too bad a time by comparison. When I was at school I could name three female composers, Elizabeth Maconchy, Elizabeth Lutyens and Clara Schumann, which is sad when you think about how many male composers there are out there. Now I make a point of buying female composers and I have quite a collection but I think I may have one piece by Lutyens - not even a whole album - and nothing by either of the others simply because I've never run across them.
ReplyDeleteJim - How about Amy Beach? When I see things like this, it makes me want to get off the computer and finish my One Woman Show - (same title as my renovation blog - ReDoingTheUndone) There's a delicate line between whining and a truly feminist expression.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have a symphony and a piano concerto by her but I only learned of her after I left school, years after. The simple fact was that I lived in a town without a proper record store and so had to rely on Boots and Menzies to meet my requirements but even later when I discovered HMV and Virgin it's always the same-ol' composers all the time. It's really only since I've had access to the Internet that I've been able to get my hands on the kind of music that interests me at an affordable price because the odd time I did run across something unusual it was generally full price and I rarely fork out the full price for anything if I can afford it. Wikipedia has a list of female composers and it is depressing how few I've actually heard of.
ReplyDelete