11.02.03
Is
the future female for tomorrow's orchestras?
Women
appear to be winning their battle for acceptance into the world's
finest orchestra and may be destined to fill the majority of places
as fewer boys learn instruments, according to an investigation by
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Music Magazine for its March issue (on sale 11 February).
Recent
research has discovered that major UK symphony orchestras are now
probably on average 30-40% female: but the future looks female.
There are now more girls than boys entering Britain's musical conservatoires.
We've come a long way. During the 1953 landmark recording of Vaughan
Williams's Sixth Symphony with Sir Adrian Boult, there was just
one woman in the orchestra - the harpist.
In
1970, the London Symphony Orchestra was dubbed 'London's most exclusive
gentlemen's club'. Meanwhile, as Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Music Magazine reveals, when
Barbican Hall opened in 1982 only male toilets were available back-stage
at stage level.
A turning
point came in the United States when 'blind' auditions were adopted
in the 1970s and 80s to help women in the audition process. Players
were asked to perform behind screens leaving the panel none the
wiser as to the gender of the playerΒ…as long as they remembered
to remove their high-heels.
This
prompted the proportion of female musicians to rise fivefold. It
had risen by only 5% in 1970 but by the year 2000 had leapt to 25%
within the top five US orchestras.
Central
Europe still lags behind, with the Vienna Philharmonic having only
accepted one woman member into the orchestra in December 2002. The
violist in question was not allowed to speak to the press.
Back
in the UK, the recent Youth Music report identifies a female majority
of 52% in English conservatories. Says Helen Wallace, Editor of
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Music Magazine: "There has clearly been a history of prejudice
in orchestral recruitment, which is only now being beaten. No one
wants a women-only situation, but most musicians would admit, the
creative tensions are better with a mix of sexes. Now that women
have proved themselves so strongly in this field, they will no doubt
go on to excel themselves as composers, conductors and directors
in other fields of music where they are still woefully underrepresented.'
In
the end, orchestras may have no choice than to accept women. Not
only are fewer boys learning to play musical instruments it seems
carrying the 'wrong kind' of musical instrument is 'uncool'.
Notes
to Editors:
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Music Magazine is the world's best-selling monthly classical
music magazine, with a monthly circulation of 78,707 (ABC: Jan to
Dec 2001) and is published by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Magazines - a division of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Worldwide Ltd, the main commercial arm of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide
does not use licence fee income for its activities and re-invests
in public service programming. In 2001/2002 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide returned
Β£106 million to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
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