Women Conductors And Composers

[robert551069]

I have read that a woman will conduct the last night of The Proms. I wonder what Sir Henry Wood would think of that?
I don't know of any female composers of classical music. This area seems dominated by men. There may be some pop music composers,though.

[Sharingan]

Not strictly true, take your pick of this lot...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_composers_by_birth_year

[woofgang]

an interesting article
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/top-10-composers-the-female-factor/

[jim360]

Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn are two that jump out straight away. I hope Henry Wood wouldn't have objected, that he would care more about the quality of the music.

[shaneystar2]

Plenty of female composers and conducters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_composers_by_birth_year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Women_conductors_%28music%29

[Canary42]

Two very interesting initial responses (thanks Shari and Wolf), but the OP is fundamentally still true.

Ask the average person-in-the-street to name any composers and I bet very very few would mention any females.

The good news is that it is changing, the bad news is that it is still taking far too long in some circles.

[FredPuli43]

They are as rare, rarer even, than female painters who achieve eminence. The Berlin Philharmonic didn't admit women players until fairly recently, but they were the last example of a common thought, that women could never perform at the highest level. That thinking has been common in all fields of human endeavour, whether in science, art, industry or the professions. Considering the times that Henry Wood lived in, it seems reasonable to assume that he would have not thought it right or possible.

[robert551069]

Thank you sharingan, woofgang, jim360, shaneystar2, canary 42, Fred Pulie 43. I should have done my homework before posting this thread.
Your prompt and helpful answers are greatly appreciated