TonThe brothers and sisters, both considered to be child prodigies, in 18day Century left a positive evaluation behind them.But at the same time Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Later hailed as one of the greatest composers in the world, His sister’s achievements – Maria Anna – was soon forgotten after she was forced to stop her career as an adult.
However, a new tool is trying to make female composers of all ages the focus of attention and oppose the sexism, stigma, and social norms that have long hidden them.
“We never gave them the place they deserve in history,” said Sakira Ventura, who is a Interactive map with more than 500 female composers come from all around the world. “They did not appear in music history books, their works were not played in concerts, and their music was not recorded.”
This 28-year-old music teacher from Valencia realized that in her years of academic music research, she had rarely heard of women creating classical music, so this idea was born. “I’ve been talking about putting these composers on the map-so it suddenly occurred to me to do it literally.”
Then comes the difficult part. “Sometimes you ask yourself, where am I looking for this information?” She delves into encyclopedias, flips through libraries and connects with people on social media.
“When I started, I thought I wouldn’t know more than five female composers,” she said. After more than a year and hundreds of hours of work, the site has recorded 530 composers—including a short description of each composer and a link to listen to their work—and Ventura is working hard to complete another 500 to add. List of names.
The result is a catalog of artists, including Cassia, a Byzantine convent who was born in 810, whose hymns are still present Sing in the Orthodox Church, Dedicated to the British girl Alma Deutscher, who composed her first piano sonata At the age of six.
Many of the women listed on the map are unknown, and their careers have been compromised by the long-standing notion that music may be a female pastime rather than a career.Some people, such as Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed Nannerl), watched their career come to an abrupt end In worries Performances and touring performances may threaten her reputation. Others are stigmatized because of this belief, Persevere stubbornly for centuries, Women are unable to carry out the advanced thinking required for creation.
“People take it for granted that the quality of works created by women is different from that of men,” Ventura said.These barriers forced female composers to be creative; some went to the monastery to study music, while others Published works under a male pseudonym.
Ventura said that most of the reactions to the map were positive, except for a few complaints that there was no voice on the map. “I have to explain to them that if they want to learn about male composers, they can open any book about music history, go to any concert or listen to any radio station,” she said. “But if I put together a map of female composers, it’s because these women won’t appear anywhere else.”
What excites her most is the interest of other teachers in her, and they are eager to incorporate maps into the curriculum. “I am 28 years old and no one has ever told me of a female composer,” she said. “So I want to do something without [been] Done for me, I want my students to know [Wolfgang Amadeus] Mozart and Beethoven exist, but there are also all these female composers. “
