Who were the greatest women composers?

These days, thankfully, composing is much less of a ‘boys only’ occupation than it used to be. Some of the greatest recent and living composers have been and are women, including figures such as Kaaija Saariaho, Judith Weir, Helen Grime, Errollyn Wallen, Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin and Rebecca Saunders. There are many, many others….

It was not always this way. Though women were never officially banned from composing, the traditional view of women as mothers and home-makers meant that there was not much encouragement either. These attitudes often meant that those who did compose were limited to writing in more ‘lady-like’ forms such as art songs and characteristic piano pieces. Longer forms and especially works for orchestra were not considered appropriate for women.

Despite all this, and often with considerable courage and determination, some women were able to forge a path as composers. Here are some, but by no means all, of the greatest.

Hildegard of Bingen (c.1098–1179)

One of the most remarkable figures in Western music, Hildegard of Bingen was not just a composer, but also a Benedictine abbess, a writer, philosopher, mystic and even a practitioner of medicine. Her musical output consists mainly of 69 liturgical songs in the style of Gregorian chant—one of the most important bodies of work from this period by any composer. An example of this would be her Spiritus sanctus vivificanswhich, like all of her music, consists of a soaring single line melody. She also wrote one of the first non-litugucal dramatic works ‘Ordo Virtutum’, a morality play that itself contains 82 songs.

Barbara Strozzi (1619—1677)

Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi (1619—1677) was one of the most prolific of her time, publishing eight volumes of secular music, a record unsurpassed by any of her male colleagues. This is remarkable given that she achieved this without the patronage received by her male peers. Her output includes many solo songs, including the ravishing, Che si puo fare,based upon the popular baroque device of a ‘ground bass’; and madrigals in several parts, for example Le tre Grazie a Venere,where The Three Graces address themselves to Venus, knowingly commenting on her beauty.

Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847)

Fanny Mendelssohn, also known as Fanny Hensel after her marriage in 1829, suffered badly from the prevailing attitude that composing was not a feminine pursuit. Comparing her and her younger brother, the now celebrated Felix Mendelssohn, her father said ‘Music will perhaps become his profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament.’ Despite this prejudice, she was still able to produce some 500 works. Most of these, such as her well-known Notturnofor piano, were in smaller, more ‘feminine’ forms, but there are also some examples of larger scale pieces, such as her Overture in Cfor orchestra.

Clara Schumann (1819–1896)

Clara Schumann was one of the greatest pianists of the Romantic era, premiering many of the works of her husband Robert Schumann and their mutual friend Johannes Brahms. She was also a composer of some renown, despite ending her composing career at the age of just 36, possibly due to the grief she felt following the death of her husband. Her best compositions include her Piano Trio in G Minor,Piano Concerto in A Minor,Six Lieder Op.13,Piano Sonata in G Minorand numerous other works for keyboard, the most popular of which are her dramatic Scherzo No.2 in C Minor and the elegantly free-wheeling Notturno Op.6 No.2.

Augusta Holmès (1847–1903)

Augusta Holmès was a naturalised French composer who was trailblazing in several ways. Not only was she a successful female composer in a profession dominated by men but, like Wagner, she also wrote texts for almost all of her vocal music, including the opera La Montagne noire. That work together with orchestral works such as Allegro Feroce (1870), Irlade(1882) La Nuit et l’Amour(1888) saw her successfully prevailing against the attitude that women should limit themselves to writing in smaller forms. She was also, however, an exquisite miniaturist, writing more that 100 songs, including a delightful meditation on Christmas, Noel, and the lovely, lilting Fleur de neige.

Amy Beach (1867–1944)

Amy Beach was one of the first successful female composers in the United States. She was perhaps best known during her lifetime for her songs, though she wrote much music in other genres, including large quantities of piano music; important chamber works such as her Sonata in A minor for piano and violin (Op. 34), the Quintet in F-sharp minorfor piano and strings (Op. 67), a String Quartet(Op. 89) and the achingly nostalgic Romance for Violin and Piano(Op.23). Also significant was her Gaelic Symphony(Op.32) of 1896, which was the first piece of its type by an American woman to be published and played by a professional orchestra.

Alma Mahler (1879–1964)

Like Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, Alma Mahler was a composer whose music was overshadowed by her association with a more famous male composer—in her case Gustav Mahler. Though she had studied composition from 1900 with Alexander von Zemlinsky, her marriage to Gustav in 1902 initially resulted in a cessation of her composing, apparently at his insistence. He later regretted this attitude and encouraged her to publish her Five Songs in 1910. These works and twelve other songs are, sadly, the only pieces of hers to survive, even though it is known that she wrote some fifty works in various genres.