1. Clara Schumann (1819-96)

‘I once believed that I had creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not wish to compose – there never was one able to do it,’ Clara remarked in later life. ‘Am I to be the one? It would be arrogant to believe that.’

Despite her lack of self-belief and a turbulent private life, Clara Schumann’s musical career withheld for an impressive 61-years. Amongst her dominating career as a pioneering concert pianist, Schumann was also a talented composer. Admired by her colleagues, her compositions caught the eye of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Chopin and her husband Robert Schumann. Over time, Clara has become routinely remembered as ‘the wife’ of Robert Schumann (and the subject of some speculative gossip with Brahms!), to the detriment of her own achievements.

Now, a century later, her compositions are gaining the recognition they deserve. Championing her works are prominent musicians such as Isata Kanneh-Mason, Lucy Parham and Tasmin Little.

Her most notable works include her: Piano Trio in G minor, Piano Concerto, Lieder and several pieces for solo piano.

Recommended Recording

Clara Schumann Piano Concerto in A Minor Op 7 (1835)

Isata-Kanneh Mason pf Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Holly Mathieson

2. Louise Farrenc (1804-75)

In 1970, the Equal Pay Act came into force, prohibiting wage discrimination on the basis of sex. However, the subject of equal pay is an issue that appeared well before the 1970s.

In the 19th century, French pianist and composer, Louise Farrenc was appointed professor at the Paris Conservatory. For her first decade at the conservatory, Farrenc was paid less than her male colleagues. After persistent protest, Farrenc finally achieved equal pay. Setting an inspiring example for women around the globe.

Farrenc had a large portfolio of compositions: symphonies, overtures and solo piano works. Her chamber music wooed the Parisian audiences and critics, and in both 1861 and 1869, she was awarded the esteemed Académie des Beaux-Arts’ Chartier Prize.

Written in 1849, Farrenc’s Third Symphony has been described as a rebellion. A defiance against the 19th-century belief that women were only able to compose small-scale works for the domestic setting. Farrenc’s symphony is bold and energetic, fit for the concert hall.

The symphony knows no boundary between the traditional genders of musical characteristics. Strings have shocking, bold ‘masculine’ interruptions, fluidly interwoven with graceful ‘feminine’ melodies found in the woodwinds.

Recommended Recording

Louise Farrenc Symphony No 3 (1849)

Insula Orchestra / Laurence Equilbey

3. Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)

Suffragette Ethel Smyth wrote The March of the Women in 1910. An anthem for both the Suffragette and Women’s Social and Political Union movement, the ‘call to battle’ has served women around the globe.

During Smyth’s lifetime, March of the Women was performed in multiple venues around the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall. Perhaps most notably, the March was performed at Holloway Prison, where in 1912, conductor Thomas Beecham found a number of imprisoned suffragettes led by Smyth herself 'marching round [the courtyard] and singing lustily their war-chant while the composer, beaming approbation from an overlooking upper window, beat time in almost Bacchic frenzy with a toothbrush.'

Recommended Recording

Ethel Smyth March of the Women (1910)

Suffrage Sinfonia

4. Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-69)

Grażyna Bacewicz, played a vital role in transporting Polish music from the 19th-century to the 20th-century. Bacewicz merged native folksongs of Poland with a modern style, creating an inspiring approach to music.

Composing during a period of war and socialist regimes, Bacewicz’s compositions are a tribute to her strength and resilience as a female musician.

Bacewicz’s 1943 Overture was written in the midst of WWII and premiered in Krakow at the end of the war. The work encapsulates the struggle and tensions felt at the time, with looming snare drums and dark brass fanfares. Yet, within this unease we find a message of hope: the Morse code for ‘V’ (dot-dot-dot-dash), a drummed heartbeat on the timpani, a symbol for victory.

Recommended Recording

Grażyna Bacewicz Overture (1943)

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Łukasz Borowicz

5. Augusta Holmès (1847-1903)

Despite active discouragement from her mother, Augusta Mary Anne Holmès adamantly pursued her right to become a musician. The French-Irish composer waited until 1857, the year of her mother’s death to began her music education.

By 1875, Holmès was a well-respected composer in the cultural circles of Paris, winning the admiration of both her audiences and close friends, including Franz Liszt.

Entrepreneurial Holmès became the publisher and sole-owner of her compositions. Her grandiose works moved away from societal expectations of women and impressed with their powerful, large-scale forces, fit for the concert hall. From choral works to operas, the energetic works of Holmès challenged the dominating works of her male counterparts.

In 1889, Holmès was commissioned to compose Ode triomphale, commemorating the French Revolution. Holmès used her works to speak to national causes, the symphonic poem Irlande, is a plea for freedom, a showcase of national grief and triumph. Within Irlande, a long melancholy clarinet solo, is followed by a joyful jig and finally moves to an overwhelming quotation of Let Erin Remember, a native Irish folksong.

Recommended Recording

Augusta Holmès Irlande (1882)

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz / Samuel Freidmann

6. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b1939)

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is the first woman to have been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her work. She is the first woman to receive a doctorate from the Juilliard School and the first to hold the composer’s chair at Carnegie Hall.

A prolific figure, Zwilich’s compositions range from large-scale symphonies to solo works. The works are regarded for their vigour, assertiveness and ability to challenge both the performer and audience.

Symphony No 1, composed in 1982, won Zwilich the Pulitzer Prize. 

Recommended Recording

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Symphony No 1 (Three Movements for Orchestra) (1982)

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra / John Nelson

7. Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)

The turn of the 20th century was a pivotal time in the world of art. Art was evolving and new voices were emerging, amongst them were the 20th-century masters Debussy, Stravinsky and Ravel. During this time, composer Germaine Tailleferre also emerged. Known as the only female member of ‘Les Six’ – a prominent group of 20th century composers, which included Poulenc, Milhaud, Honegger, Auric and Durey. Writing most of her celebrated works during the 1920s, Tailleferre became a figure of exceptional musical talent and prowess. Her compositions are characterised by their freshness, spontaneity and charm.

Composed in 1924, her piano concerto was premiered by pianist Alfred Cortot and was described by the pianist as: ‘Voilа qui n’est pas moins beau que Bach’ (Here’s something no less beautiful than Bach).

The Concerto evokes elements of the baroque era with its continuous flowing melody, which is contrasted by the 20th-century use of poignant and innovative harmony. Culminating into a compositions that could only belong to the 1920s.

Recommended Recording

Germaine Tailleferre Concerto Pour Piano (1924)

Josephine Gandolfi pf California Parallèle Ensemble University of California, Santa Cruz Orchestra / Nicole Paiement

8. Errollyn Wallen (b1958)

Errollyn Wallen’s engaging compositions have been heard across the globe and commissioned by the most prominent institutions, including the BBC, Royal Opera House and the Wigmore Hall. From chamber works to songs for voice, her compositions are versatile and have an authentic approach to music. Wallen’s music is free from constraints, her group Ensemble X has the motto: ‘We don’t break down barriers in music … We don’t see any’.

Daedalus is a composition by Wallen for voice and ensemble.

Daedalus and his son Icarus are figures from greek mythology. Trapped in the labyrinth maze by King Minos, the duo were desperate to escape. Daedalus created two glorious sets of wings, the father and son learnt how to fly, and they soared their way to freedom.

Yet, despite pre-warning from his father, Icarus was delirious with euphoria and swooped to the sun. Soon, his wings melted, Icarus fell to the sea and drowned. The Icarian Sea and small island Icaria are named after Icarus.

Wallen’s compositions is written from Daedalus’ perspective, and alludes to another side of the mythological figure. Wallen draws on his murder of Perdix, Daedalus’ nephew and apprentice, who’s inventive talent threatened to overshadow the work of Daedalus.

The work appears alongside Björk, Sting, Elvis Costello and Meredith Monk on the Brodsky Quartet’s album Moodswings.

In 2007, Errollyn was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list for her services to music, and a CBE in 2020.

Recommended Recording

Errollyn Wallen Daedalus (2004)

9. Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)

'I was his only girl pupil, and it was considered something rather unusual…' said composer Rebecca Clarke.

Born in 1886, British-American Clarke achieved what she called her 'one little whiff of success', with her Viola Sonata of 1919. Her composition spans a range of 20th-century styles and is renowned for its passion and prowess.

In her time, Clarke was a recognised talent. However out of her multiple (nearly 100) compositions, only 20 have achieved publication. Scholarship and interest in her work was revived in 1976 and the Rebecca Clarke Society was established in 2000 to promote the study and performance of her music.

The sonata shows a side to the viola, that can be soft and feminine but also sing, wild and powerful. Her writing is a tribute to the variety of tones and colours found in the stringed instrument.

Recommended Recording

Rebecca Clarke Viola Sonata (2007)

Philip Dukes va Sophia Rahman pf

10. Amy Beach (1867-1944)

The 19th-century attitudes towards the education of women saw female musicians, such as Amy Beach unable to receive the same opportunities as her male counterparts. Despite this, Beach started her composition career from a young age and became the first woman in America to have her symphony published and performed. The “Gaelic” Symphony premiered in 1896 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The symphony draws on songs from the British Isles, the home of Beach’s ancestors. In doing so, Beach became the first composer in America to use folk songs as thematic material within a symphony.

Amy Beach is now regarded as one of the most distinctive musicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Recommended Recording

Amy Beach Symphony in E minor, Gaelic Symphony

Detroit Symphony Orchestra / Neeme Järvi