In this creation of history, the composer became revered as a god it wasn't really until Liszt that the performer as we know it today emerged. As we know, women were denied the resources of training and education that men received, making it virtually impossible for them to compose on a technical level equal to that of an academy-trained male. The historiographers, the creators of history, came to know women s music as inferior, not worthy of inclusion in the canon. Things are changing. Feminist musicology has brought attention to the contributions of women over the last few centuries as composers, and also as patrons and teachers.
Some musicologists focus on the cultural circumstances surrounding women s exclusion from the canon.
Others delve into the psychology motivating exclusion, exploring the fears of femininity and sexuality as represented by women s involvement in music. At the Blair School, our music history professors are developing a curriculum that is more inclusive, from lectures on 15th-century nuns to criticisms of Johannes Brahms written by Clara Schumann. Toby called me yesterday, triumphant. Guess what my lecture s on tomorrow, Patti Clara Schumann. I didn t respond, waiting to hear his own assessment.