The Sound of Music is Overwhelmingly Male

According to a survey, only 1% of the works scheduled for orchestral concerts have been composed by a woman.

When we think of composers of excellence, it is easy to name people such as Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. We know them so well that we only need their surnames to recognize them. However, we are lost at the mention of Clara Schumann, Louise Farrenc, or Francesca Caccini. They are also among the list of the most prolific classical musicians of the last four centuries. Unfortunately, however, their names and musical trajectory are rarely mentioned outside of the sphere of people dedicated to teaching, producing, or disseminating classical music.

We could say that this is only a problem of historical appreciation. Unfortunately, this gender imbalance in the classical and instrumental music scene has persisted from the Middle Ages until the XXI century. It has remained one of the most backward fields of artistic production with regards to gender equity.

Perspective in numbers

Art and its production have a gender equity problem, dating back to when women were not allowed into educational spaces. The disproportion of artistic content producers based on gender is notorious. For example, in the seventh art field, only 10% of film directors are women. If we talk about painting, women attain only 2% of professional producers with works in the market worldwide. We might think that this sum is negligible. Still, if we review the percentage of works scheduled for orchestras and concerts, only 1.8% are produced by women, according to a survey conducted by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Does this mean that no women are producing instrumental music? Or training to be songwriters? Is it a diffusion problem? Musicians, teachers, and promoters consider that it could be all of the above.

Education, yes; Opportunity, no

The gender imbalance in instrumental music does not come from the lack of educational opportunities for the training of female composers. In Spain, for example, the number of female students in this field rises to 27%, but upon graduation, only 5% of them dedicate themselves to composing music professionally.

The decision-makers for the diffusion of classical music occupy a complicated, traditionalist niche that worships legendary figures. As Mohammed Fairouz, renowned opera composer, explains on NPR. “I understand why Mozart and Beethoven dominate symphonic cycles. You want to program something extraordinary, something that you can bring to all audiences, and then you program it again, and again, and again. “

Fairouz explains concisely why classical music has been at its best … for 500 years. The spaces for diffusion are critical to the evolution of music. What was done on a technical and artistic level in Buddy Bolden‘s time is not what was done in the studios where Miles Davis or Quincy Jones worked. If a musical genre like jazz can host different styles and evolution in a matter of decades, why is classical music still an exclusive showcase for composers who wrote their works centuries ago?

Lack of visibility

Verónica Sabbag, a diplomat of the European Union and founder of the not-for-profit “United voices for peace,” is very clear that the problem is not the lack of female composers. During the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration, this NGO was entrusted with the task of choosing ten compositions written by women and inspired by the struggle for human rights. The commissioning committee received 500 scores from hundreds of countries of origin. Thus, not only is there a strong presence of women in the world of classical composition but there is also a hunger for spaces for dissemination and integration into the artistic collective.

Sabbag revealed that the gender imbalance in music production is rooted in its legacy. It has affected figures of historical relevance, such as Clara Schumman herself, who thought that no woman should try to compose. We would not know her as one of the best composers of the romantic era were it not for the support of her husband, Robert Schumann, another central figure in this musical vein.

The previous example clarifies that to mitigate this imbalance, female production, which has existed almost since male production, is not the only thing required. What is needed is to bring the topic to the center of conversation among exhibitors and content curators for symphonies, salons, conservatories, universities, and specialty radio stations.

Measures such as ensuring 30% of female participants in selection committees, blind auditions, and festivals with a diversity agenda could play a crucial role in ensuring that classical music students will have a job future like their male colleagues.

Are you a student, teacher, producer, or fan of classical music? Do you think that the gender imbalance in this area is a problem to be solved? Tell us in the comments.

Translation by Daniel Wetta.

Sofía García-Bullé

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0