Women are active in all aspects of classical music, such as instrumental performance, vocal performance, orchestral conducting, choral conducting, scholarly research, and contemporary composition. However, proportionately to men, their representation and recognition -especially at higher levels- falls a long way below their numbers.
Although women have not had roles in symphony orchestras until recently, it has been much more common for women to study musical instruments. In the 1800s, upper-class women often were expected to learn an instrument, often the harp, piano, guitar, or violin, or to learn to sing. It is only in recent years that women have performed in the soloist setting more frequently. Pianist (and composer) Clara Schumann and vocalist Jenny Lind were two rarer examples prominent in the nineteenth-century.
History
One of the first historically recorded women in medieval music was Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote religious pieces in the 12th century. Women have also been necessary for the functioning of choirs, which require the upper register that women can sing, although Pope Leo IV (847–855 A.D.) banned women in choirs from singing in churches, and Pope Pius X banned women from church choirs in 1907. Antonio Vivaldi led an all-girl orchestra in 1714 at a school for girls.
Historically, women were expected to master instruments along with learning music basics such as reading music, writing music, and performing it. However, until the 20th century, it was seen as immoral to perform publicly and women were only expected to play in the private domestic setting. Until recently, women were not allowed to be taught at a conservatory level and were tracked into a less demanding curriculum that omitted topics that were considered complex. These subjects included composition, counterpoint, and orchestration. Women are even less encouraged to compose than perform it. The professional status of women composers was influenced by their family and marital status. Women who came from musical families and had the support of their husband and their father could make a name for themselves.
A prominent historic example is Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, a French composer born in 1665. Her grandfather, Jehan Jacquet, and her father, Claude Jacquet, were harpsichord makers. Rather than just teaching his sons, Claude Jacquet taught both his sons and daughters how to survive and thrive in the world. This upbringing, support from her father, and her family's rich history of musicianship was a major stepping stone for her musical career. At the age of five, Louis XIV took notice of her when she performed at his palace of Versailles. This eventually led to her becoming a musician in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. She wrote most of her works for her king, which was common for the time. Titon du Tillet accorded her a place on his Mount Parnassus when she was only 26 years old. Despite that her one published opera, Céphale et Procris, only had 5 or 6 performances, she continued to compose throughout her life, producing a wide variety of pieces. After her death, her genius in compositions, her creativity in vocal and instrumental music, and her variety of genres are acknowledged. Her life and career success show that she was given a rare opportunity to succeed as a female composer, and how she took full advantage of it.
It used to be considered proper for a young woman in upper society to attain proficiency on a classical instrument, usually the piano, harp, classical guitar, or voice. Women's roles in music, whether it be performance or education, was meant for their private lives inside their homes, rather than public. Other than this, women were not trained as professionals, however, because it was considered immodest for a woman to perform in public. These etiquette guidelines were typically spread by books such as Letters to a Young Lady written by John Bennett in 1798, and Letters to Young Ladies written by Lydia Sigourney in 1844. Musical performance was seen as a feminine pursuit, and thus schools for women often had more of a focus on music than schools for boys. In fact, the first music conservatory in the United States, Music Vale Seminary, was established in 1835 for the purpose of teaching women music. The culture of women learning music was so strong in the 18th century that George Washington's step-granddaughter Eleanor Custis Parke and Thomas Jefferson's wife Martha Jefferson were musicians.
Women did not compose classical music often in the 18th century. While compositions written by women were acceptable in Europe and Great Britain, compositions written by American women were often vaguely attributed or unattributed.