A.  I began piano lessons when I was six years old and one of my favorite piano books was filled with pictures of the masters.  The photos and drawings sparked my imagination.  But even at six, I remember thinking as I saw page after page of bearded men, "Why aren't there any women here?"  I buried the question.  Years later while studying for my Masters degree in music, that question re-surfaced and I began a serious search for women composers of the past.

Q.  Why are women composers obscure in the history of western music?

A.  When I began my search, the names of women composers were rarely found in music history texts or encyclopedias.  There were many reasons for this absence.  Unlike the music of their male counterparts, much of women's music had no widespread publication. Information about famous women musicians was scattered and often not documented very well because women's creative work was not taken seriously.  Yet, as musicologists began to weave together the data into a whole historical fabric, we discovered that a number of women had been active as composers and instrumentalists as far back as 2500 B.C.  Many of these women made significant contributions.  We just didn't know about it.

Q.  Generally in the past, what was western society's attitude toward women composing?

A.  For the most part, women of the past lived and worked in an environment that did not value their involvement in music.  This societal attitude can be summarized in the words Abraham Mendelssohn spoke to his daughter Fanny, when she expressed a desire to work seriously in the field of music: "Prepare more earnestly and eagerly for your real calling, the only calling of a young woman-I mean the state of a housewife."

Q.  One composer you have championed is the early romantic Polish composer, Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831, Poland).  Why is her music seldom heard today?

A.  Maria Szymanowska lived twenty years before Chopin.  She was a transitional composer who helped develop the Nocturne into the beautiful lyrical expression we find in Chopin's music.  A number of the technical ideas in her etudes also found their way into Chopin's compositions.  She was definitely a strong influence on him.  However, her importance and accomplishments were overshadowed by her more famous compatriot but this does not diminish the significant place that she holds in music history.

Q.  Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944, France) was a popular French composer in her day. Why has the popularity of her music disappeared today?

A.  Nature endowed Chaminade with a genuine melodic gift.  Beautiful melodies grace nearly all of her 400 compositions which were published in her lifetime.  Many of her pieces are short, appealing works that could be learned quickly by amateur pianists looking for music to enjoy in leisure moments.  At the turn of the 20th century, she was so successful as a pianist and composer that even in America, there were Chaminade clubs.  However, as the 20th century progressed, popular taste changed, "modern music" entered the scene and many of the previously cherished romantic values were disparaged.  Her music went out of vogue.  But now, as melody is finding it's way back into contemporary music, Chaminade's pieces may again find favor.

Q.  In addition to their talent and skill, did these women share other similarities?