An Orchestra Limitation: Gender

An Orchestra Limitation: Gender
Emily Rodriguez-Quiros

Throughout history, women have been severely oppressed. There has always been a marked difference between man and woman, societyconsidering women as the most fragile human being. Music has not been the exception to this rule that has limited the professional coexistence between men and women.

The first trace of anorganized orchestra is during the 18th century, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, named, like the Concertgebouwn Orchestra, after the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. From this century until the 20thcentury, women were not allowed to be members of any orchestra besides the all-female orchestras, with an exception for the harpist. The harp is an instrument associated with the delicacy thatdistinguished women from men. Therefore, women harpists where accepted as non-permanent members of orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic. Women were first accepted to play with men in orchestras duringWorld War II, replacing the male musician that had to go to combat.

There have been many disputes over whether women should be part of symphony orchestras or not. For a lot of men,having young women working near them can become a problem given that they can distract men. “Maternity, sexual attraction, and female creativity”1 could disturb the uniformity acquired by a professionalorchestra.

On February 13th, 1996, three members of the distinguished and renowned austrian orchestra, The Vienna Philharmonic, an entity founded on 1842, were interviewed in a West GermanState Radio, along with a Viennese sociologist, Roland Goettler. The members of the orchestra were talking about the importance of having uniformity in the orchestra (Ironically given that the ViennaPhilharmonic has never had a principal conductor, the members chose every year an artist to conduct all the concerts of the season.) and explaining, while trying to avoid sexist comments, why women...