Glad you mentioned her independently from my post!
The case of Fanny Hensel is a bit more complex, because at least in the music scene she had quite a bit of fame, and she undoubtedly influenced others.
Still, the problem clearly is the definition of "major composer". If it is just a question of fame, probably no woman composer until today deserves this label. I would argue that fame has rather little to do with it...
Whatever the case, had she lived a little longer I think she would have been the first really famous female composer, but that is certainly debatable.
Johannes
David W. Fenton wrote:
Fanny Mendelssohn's songs were silently published under her brother's name.
He was a major composer, the songs are considered just as brilliant as his other songs.
Does that make her a major composer?
The concept of "major composer" is useless in a time period in which no female composer, however brilliant, would have been allowed to become a "major composer."
There were female composers just as brilliant and gifted as the best male composers. But they were never given the opportunity to develop or distribute their music.
-- http://www.musikmanufaktur.com http://www.camerata-berolinensis.de
_______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
