Female Composers
Even more than their male peers, the female French composers of the nineteenth century have faded from historical memory; only recently, thanks to research and recording projects, have they begun to be rediscovered little by little. Such projects have revealed that, despite the social pressures exerted on women during this period (marriage and motherhood first among them), which placed obstacles to a compositional career, there exists a quantitatively and qualitatively significant corpus of works written by women in the nineteenth century. Largely kept away from the operatic stage – the conquest of which represented the culmination of a career –, these composers devoted themselves more to piano and chamber music. And while women were well represented in the harmony, counterpoint, and composition classes of the Paris Conservatoire throughout the nineteenth century, not until 1913 did Lili Boulanger became the first woman to win the Premier Prix de Rome (jointly with Claude Delvincourt).
Videos
Related persons
Scientific publications
Articles
Marie Jaëll: a passion for composing
Articles
Marie Jaëll
Permalink
publication date : 12/08/25
Back to the list of Focus