The field of possibilities

Although their works have diverse features and reveal varied aesthetic choices, women composers share a common experience of the musical world that allows us to hear them as a coherent group. Various constraints played an important role here: the noble genres were almost inaccessible to them, and they were generally restricted to domestic or educational fields. The piano – the instrument par excellence of the salon and young girls’ education – thus serves both as a symbol of their submission and an opportunity for emancipation: they could pursue careers as virtuoso soloists, achieve social advancement or simply express themselves fully.