In recent decades, the output of female composers from past centuries has been gaining in importance, and one may hazard the assertion that such composers as Clara Schumann (née Wieck), Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn and Maria Szymanowska are now recognised beyond strictly professional musical circles. However, since the domestic education of young ladies that was widespread during the nineteenth century – and even de rigueur in some social milieux – enabled girls to discover their inclinations and talents as performers and composers, it is hardly surprising that, despite the revival of the legacy of at least the three composers mentioned above, hundreds of works by women composers – some of the highest quality – still await their due place in music history. The present article, in which just a few female composers of varying stature are briefly discussed (from Delphine von Schauroth, whose modest output is of rather historical interest, to Louise Farrenc, who wrote excellent symphonies), is merely a prelude to further research. The quoted reviews and notes concerning our protagonists from the German and French press (not previously translated into Polish) illustrate the social conventions by which female composers were assessed at that time, the repercussions of which are still being felt, albeit subconsciously, today.
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