womeninmusichistory:▷ WOMEN COMPOSERS ◁ ▪ ETHEL SMYTH ▪ (1858-1944) Dame Ethel Smyth was an Englis
womeninmusichistory: ▷ WOMEN COMPOSERS ◁ ▪ ETHEL SMYTH ▪ (1858-1944) Dame Ethel Smyth was an English composer and suffragette. She was alternately praised and panned for writing music that was considered too masculine for a “lady composer”. “Smyth’s music was seldom evaluated as simply the work of a composer among composers, but as that of a “woman composer.” This worked to keep her on the margins of the profession, and, coupled with the double standard of sexual aesthetics, also placed her in a double bind. On the one hand, when she composed powerful, rhythmically vital music, it was said that her work lacked feminine charm; on the other, when she produced delicate, melodious compositions, she was accused of not measuring up to the artistic standards of her male colleagues.” {x} ▶ Notable Works: Concerto for Violin Horn and Orchestra, Mass in D Major, operas The Wreckers and Der Wald. -- source link