THE LEGACY OF OUR

STUDIED COMPOSERS
Online Module
 Technology for this online module
• These slides have a voice track with
lecture recorded over slide – starting with
the next slide, click on the icon for sound
in center of slide to hear recording
• Be sure to have your speakers turned on to
hear lecture component
Today’s topic
• Looking at the legacies of
Fanny, Clara, and Amy
Where we started – Feminist Music
History

• Efforts overlooked
• Gender prejudice
• Anxiety of authorship
• Western Canon sexist –
favors men
Where we started – Five Factors

• Familial musical involvement

• Access to musical education
• Social / financial means for musical
opportunities
• Personal / domestic challenges
• Socio-cultural conditions of the time
Vastly Different Worlds
• Training
• Time to compose
• Domestic challenges
• Life spans
• Documentary evidence
Other factors
• Technology availability
• Iconography
• Personal interference by family members –
revision of history
• Missing documents
• Availability of archival materials to
researchers
• Change in musical tastes/preferences
Commonalities
• Composition legacy
• Musical prodigies
• Positive role models
• Made sacrifices for their art
• Derived pleasure from practicing their craft
• Made music focal point of their lives
For further consideration

• What was the cost of living in the

shadow of greatness?
 For further consideration

• If we remove the element of gender bias, how would each

composer have dealt with remaining barriers?
How far have we come?

• Do the same barriers exist now?

• Have they morphed into other issues related to race,
body image, and privilege?
• How much of a role does public persona play in
musical success?
 What I hope you will remember
• There is always a personal story behind the professional
details.
• The desire to create cannot be stifled by external factors.
• The power of music to tell the story of our lives cannot be
diminished.
• Issues studied related to gender and success are not unique to
music.
• It is up to us to remember these women and tell their story.
Thank you for taking this journey
with me