Culture is everything and this includes the role of women in music. March 8th International Women's Day.
Guilhermina Suggia
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| Illustration by Vasco Gargalo from https://ilustragargalo.blogspot.com/ |
The March cover presents an illustration of the great violoncellist Guilhermina Suggia. In different texts, she is considered a precursor to female cellists (soloist), "a woman ahead of her time", determined to grab the cello in the same way as men, that is, holding it with her legs. Most likely, her career was hindered by the fact of being a woman, even Emanuel Feuermann «dismissed her as a Drawing-Room Player». She would probably have been terrified about Sir Thomas Beecham's unfortunate comment to Beatrice Harrison «Madam, you hold between your legs an instrument that could give pleasure to thousands, and all you do is sit there and scratch it». Furthermore, it would seem that Pau Casals made unpleasant actions and comments against her due to an unresolved breakup. Not to mention the excess of information about her private life that diverts attention from her career. It seems that the musical circle was not very kind to her.
It would be acceptable to say that the behavior of Feuermann, Beecham or Casals corresponded to a generation whose worldview -like a straitjacket- prevented them from respecting a woman as a soloist because various authors strive to point out the "sexism of the time" as if it had now disappeared, but suffice it to point out that nowadays some female soloists even "have" to wear suggestive clothing or make sexualized facial expressions, worse still, this seems to be highly appreciated and valued by the audience. The problem is on a social scale. For example, we might ask ourselves, if male soloists wore skimpy clothes and made "weird" facial expressions on stage, would their work be respected? Would they fill the main concert halls?
The constant signaling of the "sexism of the time", as a way of overcoming, corresponds only to the style of Modern writing, which includes indications that we will be better in the future or that we are better than our predecessors, nothing further from the truth. Honestly, it's a bit shocking to constantly read these types of inferences. Conclusion, sexism has not disappeared, it has not been overcome and the human being has objectified himself with greater effort "on our time" and it is visible to everyone, every day, anywhere.
March festivals
On the other hand, I would like to tell everyone that The Brahms Festival -scheduled for 2022 but postponed due to the pandemic- will start on March 11th, the opening programme will include the “German Requiem”. There will be 4 online broadcasts, one on YouTube and three on NDR Kultur radio, one of our favorite violinists, Christian Tetzlaff will perform (YaY!!). There will also be a festival on St Mary's Perivale channel entitled 'New Faces' Piano Festival Weekend. Don't miss them!!
As a side note, there will be a panel of women experts on the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra channel on March 1, the focus of which will be classical music in society. Enjoy!!
P.S. Lots of love to all!!
Reference
Mercier, A (NDA) Guilhermina Suggia. Internet Cello Society. URL https://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/suggia.htm
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