A particular music history: the contribution of women

Abstract

Researches on women history are so common today that many scholars overlook to think about any special qualification or approach their topic might require. As a result, in musicological studies women are often supposed to have carried on their musical activities under the same circumstances as their coeval men, which was not the case till recent times. This paper highlights the necessity of knowing the history of women in order to value the available sources and data on their musical activities, so that we can go beyond the anecdote. One of the main differences between male composer’s professional career and women’s is professionalism. This paper studies some of the consequences for historiography of the problematical professionalism of women’s musical activity before 1900.