Overshadowed By Their Male Counterparts: Composers Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schumann are already more famous than their respective counterparts Maria Anna Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Clara Schuman. This means that before we even begin to listen to their music, we are already primed to compare them to the famous male composers in their life. Also, notice how male composers get the privilege of being referred to by their last name alone, yet female composers are often referred to using their first name.

Alternative Canon: You will often find anthologies of just female composers, books about female composers or concerts where the repertoire is entirely by women. Some people think this is necessary to allow female composers to have the opportunity to be highlighted , as they have been ignored for so long. Others point out that you never see an anthology of “male composers” rather just “composers” The “Alternative canon project” argue that they don’t discourage engagement with famous male composers but rather “As a targeted space, we hope to contribute to an alternative version of what the canon could look like.” (ACP).

Expanded Canon: Expanded canon is when women are added to our repertoires or anthologies without removing any of the men. Pendle refers to this as simply trying to ‘add and stir’ women into the established system of music history. She is implying that this method doesn’t work because it fails to address the fundamental sexism of the existing approach to music history. Women will still seem inferior, Pendle argues, as expanded canon fails to address the lived experience of female composers, and the challenges they faced to get a music education. An example of expanded canon is A level syllabuses now including female composers such as Clara Schumann.

For a quick overview of four iconic female composers:

Compare this article with this one:

The Alternative canon project:

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