Erasmus+ Voices of Women Conference 2024

For Victoria Hodgkinson:

‘The day began with a morning of talks and short paper presentations led by a mixture of conservatoire students and senior university staff from the partnered institutions. The presentations explored research on female performer and composer identities. It was interesting to witness the types of thinking and questioning taking place among the students and to see them engage critically in discussions of gender equality in music with their colleagues and teachers. It seemed to me a space in which honest intergenerational questioning was taking place.

The morning of thoughtful discussion moved into a more practical afternoon of musical workshopping and masterclasses where the works of women composers were studied in song repertoire ranging from 17^th century Italian vocal literature by female composers such as Francesca Caccini, to works by contemporary jazz female songwriters and composers such as Cécile McLorin Salvant. Much of the work here had to do with questions of performance practice. The students interacted with the writing styles, text and uses of performing space when delving into this music. Ultimately, this first day promoted the study and engagement with music written by women across time and genre in an open and inclusive environment with students.’

The following day began with a paper from Judith Kopecky of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. Her exploration of a single year in interwar Viennese musical life, 1928, demonstrated the rich and musically diverse experiences of women musicians in the city. Narrowing her field down to Lieder composers who had their works performed during this year, Kopecky introduced 11 women from Mathilde Kralik von Meyrswalden to Grete von Zieritz, contextualising their output through painter Illy Kjaër’s 1927 quotation:

‘Professional competition between men and women is not only a question of economics, but also a question of power [...].’

The paper ignited a fascinating discussion on the role and definition of innovation in historical compositions. This paper was followed Anna Bredenbach's Josephine Lang in the Context of Munich`s Musical Life, 1828-1842. The sheer breadth of Lang’s life and influence was highlighted here; a particularly fascinating component of the presentation was the annotated map, showing Lang’s geographical reach. Other highlights on this day included Arnulf Mattes’s offering of a journey through the life of Norwegian composer Anne-Marie Ørbeck, whose output was performed in surprisingly diverse spaces, including radio broadcast and outdoor events, and a showing of the documentary film Itinérances about composer Tatsiana Zelianko and the creative impact of her life experiences as a Belarussian immigrant in Luxembourg. Briony Cox-Williams also gave her paper on Academy composer Clara Macirone, demonstrating how her life, and how she is depicted, exemplifies ways in which women are written out of mainstream music histories.

Day three began with “Hidden Treasures?” Reflecting on Collecting, Researching and Promoting Songs by Women. This was a presentation by Maren Bagge and Christopher Reynolds that encompassed many of the issues in accessing scores of music by women. Reynolds’ database of songs by women published in the USA and UK between 1890 and 1930 is available online. Mélina Burlaud and Anaïs Constans then gave a recital of music by women in the Nazi camps, a poignant experience.

Victoria Hodgkinson presented her paper directly after the lunch break:

‘My paper explored the conceptual thinking and artistic processes behind two pieces written for my voice and baroque ensemble by Academy composer Geoffrey King. The piece sets two publicly printed 18^th century texts surrounding the identity of historical singer Francesca Cuzzoni, for whom Handel wrote roles well known in our contemporary operatic canon. In response to the conference’s theme, my paper explored how new music can act as a vital mode of artistic questioning and bring to the forefront the lesser-heard historical voices of performing women. The new compositional works by King, which blend historical text and contemporary musical forms, ask what the identities of historical female performers can tell us about ourselves as contemporary artists today. The Voices of Women conference was the optimal environment to start to unpack my research questions surrounding this work. With vocal professors, musicologists, contemporary composers and young vocal students present, they shared pertinent feedback and offered direct questioning that helped me to refine my thinking and to assess the relevance of this work today.’

Alongside the papers and recitals were poster presentations, one given by PhD student Maho Harada:

‘It was a great opportunity to join a conference especially focused on feminism in western classical music. In my presentation, I introduced two female musicians – Nobu Koda, a Japanese violinist and pianist (1870-1946), and Marjorie Hayward, a British violinist (1885-1953), to rediscover these two lost voices from the past and give them the recognition they deserve in terms of their uniqueness and impact on classical music society. I shared their similarities and differences with my audience.’

The final presentation was given by Jenna Ristilä from the Sibelius Academy. This looked at the relationship of poetry and music in Carita Holmström’s Södergran songs, as both composer and poet sat at the cross-section of gender and identity in interesting and complex ways.

A concert to conclude the conference was given by students from the participating institutions. The dedication and conviction of the performers was a testament to the value of the repertoire. As a final event in the entire two-year project, it offered optimism for the continued spread of women’s music into concert halls and other venues while providing insight into a vast range of methodologies, historical female identities and contemporary artists working within the framework of Voices of Women.