“Only 76 classical concerts among 1,445 performed across the world from this year to 2019 include at least one piece by a woman,” writes Mark Brown in Wednesday’s (6/13) Guardian (U.K.). “The figures [were] compiled by the Donne–Women in Music project and [record label] Drama Musica…. The soprano Gabriella Di Laccio, [who] created the Donne project this year … said … there were more than enough female composers in history to get a fairer gender balance at concerts…. Some organizations have introduced measures to address the issue. The BBC Proms and the Aldeburgh Festival … have pledged a 50/50 gender balance in commissions of contemporary composers by 2022…. Di Laccio said orchestras should be playing the great works by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart but that did not excuse them from ignoring so many female composers…. The data [came] from the 2018-19 programmes of 15 large orchestras … including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic…. Timothy Walker, chief executive and artistic director of the LPO, said the orchestra did ‘not make artistic choices based on issues of gender, religion or ethnicity’ but was ‘strongly committed to supporting female musicians and composers.’ ”
Posted June 19, 2018
