Ethel Smyth, born in 1858, was an influential voice in classical music and social politics in the 20th century. She fought hard in her life for her voice and her musical performance amidst social prejudice.
At a young age, she often rebelled against the rules that people placed against her. Her father, a major general, was against her pursuing her passion in studying music, and in rebellion, she locked herself in her room until he gave in. She ended up learning at the Leipzig Conservatory, and there she found out about the bias in gender.
She faced lots of discrimination in the music industry, and she wasn’t the only one. Dr. Amy Zigler, an assistant professor of music at Salem College, has studied Smyth’s life, and commented on the common discrimination back then, “For more than a century, the gatekeepers believed women weren’t capable of writing music on a par with male composers.” If Smyth and others wrote music that was “energetic, loud, forceful or ‘virile'” it was damned as “unnatural and unbecoming of a woman.” If they wrote music that was “graceful, soft, lyrical or sentimental, it was deemed to be just ‘parlor’ music for young women to play at home – unimportant or inferior.”
Despite those against her, she continued composing music, becoming the first woman to get an opera staged at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1903. Her opera, The Wreckers, would be staged in many more places. She gained more popularity in the ‘20s, becoming the first woman to receive a damehood for music and publication in 1922.
Zigler also talked about Smyth’s ambition and resilience, “She pursued her passions, in her music and personal life. She was ambitious and unapologetic. She didn’t seem afraid to knock on a conductor’s door or smash in a politician’s window – both were the necessary course of action in her mind.”
The other main thing she was known for was her part in women’s suffrage. In 1910, she joined the Women’s Social Political Union and wrote the anthem, “The March of the Women,” which was first played during the release of imprisoned suffragettes. She also went on a campaign in March 1911 after a secretary of state made negative comments about the Votes for Women campaign. She broke windows at the Houses of Parliament and went to jail.
Ever since her death near WWII, her music started to die, but today there’s been a revival of interest in her work. To celebrate the centenary of women’s right to vote, people performed her “The March of the Women” anthem. They also performed her 1930 opera The Prison which won a Grammy. Her most magnificent piece, The Wreckers, opened the prestigious Glyndebourne festival this past May.
Article: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220720-ethel-smyththe-rebel-composer-erased-from-history
https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/885×1280/p0cn11fj.jpg
At a young age, she often rebelled against the rules that people placed against her. Her father, a major general, was against her pursuing her passion in studying music, and in rebellion, she locked herself in her room until he gave in. She ended up learning at the Leipzig Conservatory, and there she found out about the bias in gender.
She faced lots of discrimination in the music industry, and she wasn’t the only one. Dr. Amy Zigler, an assistant professor of music at Salem College, has studied Smyth’s life, and commented on the common discrimination back then, “For more than a century, the gatekeepers believed women weren’t capable of writing music on a par with male composers.” If Smyth and others wrote music that was “energetic, loud, forceful or ‘virile'” it was damned as “unnatural and unbecoming of a woman.” If they wrote music that was “graceful, soft, lyrical or sentimental, it was deemed to be just ‘parlor’ music for young women to play at home – unimportant or inferior.”
Despite those against her, she continued composing music, becoming the first woman to get an opera staged at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1903. Her opera, The Wreckers, would be staged in many more places. She gained more popularity in the ‘20s, becoming the first woman to receive a damehood for music and publication in 1922.
Zigler also talked about Smyth’s ambition and resilience, “She pursued her passions, in her music and personal life. She was ambitious and unapologetic. She didn’t seem afraid to knock on a conductor’s door or smash in a politician’s window – both were the necessary course of action in her mind.”
The other main thing she was known for was her part in women’s suffrage. In 1910, she joined the Women’s Social Political Union and wrote the anthem, “The March of the Women,” which was first played during the release of imprisoned suffragettes. She also went on a campaign in March 1911 after a secretary of state made negative comments about the Votes for Women campaign. She broke windows at the Houses of Parliament and went to jail.
Ever since her death near WWII, her music started to die, but today there’s been a revival of interest in her work. To celebrate the centenary of women’s right to vote, people performed her “The March of the Women” anthem. They also performed her 1930 opera The Prison which won a Grammy. Her most magnificent piece, The Wreckers, opened the prestigious Glyndebourne festival this past May.
Article: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220720-ethel-smyththe-rebel-composer-erased-from-history
https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/885×1280/p0cn11fj.jpg