why are there not famous classical women composers (edited)?

Answer 1

Because until recently women were not given the same musical training as men. They were on stage singing the arias and operas, and dancing in the ballets. Even now, I know more men interested and encouraged in the composing field than women. Women are the musicians, men are the composers. Lately I have seen a larger amount of women conductors though, so something good is happening. I think it will just take time as women gain more independence.

Answer 2

"Peturbed" does have a few points, but there have been famous women writers.. singers... musicians.. but it may be that (in line with what P is saying) "composer" was considered a higher status, and one above women.

Women have been kept down, as History records... Boadicea, Elizabeth 1st, Catherine the Great (how did that get in there?), Marie Curie, are figments of the imagination.

In all fairness, women didn't have access to education in the same way as men, and Marie Antoinette didn't help the female image much!!

Men in history have tried to curb the ambitions of women... some men really did believe that women couldn't do these things, because of the way they had been brought up (by their Mothers usually), and other Men were more cynical and knew they had to keep women down or all hell would break loose for men and what would happen is exactly the way things are today.. a total reversal in matters of the family.

But the idea behind all this "oppression" wasn't to oppress women, but to cherish them, and put them on a pedastal, it just didn't make sense to men of the day that women might actually want to work!!! Mind you, work today is nothing like as hard as it was then... people do work hard, but thats a different thing again.

You might like Dan Browns "Da Vinci Code" which explains (ficticiously but convincingly) how it was the church that actually kept women down...

I look forward to hearing music from a classical female composer, I am certain it will be a joy to listen to, and a treat to the ears.

Answer 3

Because that goes against society. In recent decades women composers have recieved more recognition, but throughout all of history women are suppressed in every aspect of life. Up until recently women were always seen as weaker and to help keep them down, Men never let them be seen as great at anything except tasks that kept them below men, such as cleaning, cooking, anything to serve men.

There are great women composers though. Many from "back in the day" used altered names to make them appear male. I wish I had the examples on hand, I took a History of Western Music class once and I have notes on many famous women composers. If you wish to know some of them, email me and I'll look through my old books/notes.

Answer 4

Back in those times it was not easy for a woman to get an education, they only were taught home matters. Sure there were opera women singers only because of the high pitch of their voices, composers needed them, besides it was very hard to get recognition and composers often starved so they needed a sponsor and men only sponsored women to be their lovers.

Answer 5

it really is a similar reason that one and all prevalent classical artists were white and all prevalent scientists were white. For causes explored in Diamond's "guns, Germs and metal" Europe advanced culturally faster than everywhere else. that's no longer about colour, for this reason, yet about geography. by probability, the position the geography change into positive, the inhabitants were commonly white. There truly were non-white classical composers (as listed) - yet none of them are quite nicely-basic to position track enthusiasts except perchance Scott Joplin, who in worry-free words truly counts as classical. and in view that the share of prevalent composers, artists, and scientists in a rustic is amazingly low certainly, even although there have been a honest variety of black artists (someone already pronounced Beethoven's one-time tremendous buddy Bridgetower, the unique dedicatee of the Kreutzer sonata) the opportunity of a prevalent and tremendous artist springing up from what change right into a small share of ecu society will be small.

Answer 6

Classical music was written mostly in the times where women weren't allowed opinions or education, so writing music would have been very difficult and unaccepted

Answer 7

There is this list of women composers who have CD's recordings of their work/s

http://www.kapralova.org/DATABASE.htm

Answer 8

i often wondered the same exact thing myself? apparently, male composing musicians have been extremely sexist all the time too!

Answer 9

Perturbed ~~ you said it all ~~ great answer. I had hoped to get in first but you beat me to it.

Answer 10

sexism and no womens rights