Friday, August 20, 2021

The Map of Female Composers

How many female composers can you name? I'm guessing that you can't name many. 

For example, have you heard of Clara Josephine Schumann? Clara Schumann was one of the most distinguished pianists of the 19th century. She was also a prolific composer. If you haven't heard of Clara then you might have heard of her husband Robert Schumann. 

If you haven't heard of Clara then you probably also haven't heard of Maria Anna Mozart. As a child in the 18th Century Maria toured Europe playing the harpsichord. Maria usually had top-billing, but was often accompanied by her younger brother Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Unfortunately Maria's parents forced her to stop playing when she was 15 and these days her memory is largely eclipsed by that of her brother.

Spanish music teacher Sakira Ventura can help you discover many more accomplished female composers. Her Creators of the History of Music interactive map features more than 500 female composers from around the world. If you click on the picture of a composer on the map you can read a short biography and click through to their Wikipedia page and to examples of their music (where available). The map also features a Spotify playlist compiled by Sakira which features music from many of the composers featured on the interactive map.

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