{"id":48011,"date":"2024-09-26T16:29:55","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T14:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e2a640b9-2f6d-41d4-9291-8e839f204732"},"modified":"2024-09-26T17:07:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T15:07:16","slug":"female-conductors-arent-my-cup-of-tea-the-most-chauvinistic-and-sexist-comments-by-conductors","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/female-conductors-arent-my-cup-of-tea-the-most-chauvinistic-and-sexist-comments-by-conductors\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Female conductors aren’t my cup of tea’: the most chauvinistic and sexist comments by conductors"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 14:29 PM<\/p>

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Despite their artistic genius, sometimes even the best conductors have been bigoted, derogatory and downright chauvinistic in their attitudes and remarks. Here are some egregious examples of sexist comments by conductors…<\/strong><\/p>

Sexist comments by conductors… Mariss Jansons<\/h2>
Mariss Jansons<\/a><\/strong>, who died in 2019, created headlines back in November 2017 when he told The Telegraph<\/a><\/em> <\/strong>newspaper that female conductors were \u2018not my cup of tea\u2019. <\/p>
In the interview, Ivan Hewett asked Jansons how he felt about \u2018the biggest change in the conducting scene\u2019 \u2013 the increase in female conductors over Jansons\u2019s career.<\/p>
The best female conductors<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
‘Hmm, well. Well I don\u2019t want to give offence,’ said the 74-year-old conductor<\/a><\/strong>, ‘and I am not against it; that would be very wrong. I understand the world has changed, and there is now no profession that can be confined to this or that gender. It\u2019s a question of what one is used to. I grew up in a different world, and for me seeing a woman on the podium\u2026\u00a0well, let\u2019s just say it\u2019s not my cup of tea.’<\/p>
Cue one mighty furore, followed by an apology from the Latvian maestro:<\/p>
\u2018I come from a generation in which the conducting profession was almost exclusively reserved to men. Even today, many more men than women pursue conducting professionally. But it was undiplomatic, unnecessary and counterproductive for me to point out that I\u2019m not yet accustomed to seeing women on the conducting platform. Every one of my female colleagues and every young woman wishing to become a conductor can be assured of my support. For we all work in pursuit of a common goal: to excite people for the art form we love so dearly \u2013 music.’<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mariss Jansons conducts Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra<\/em> with the Berlin Philharmonic<\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-conductors-all-time\">The 20 greatest conductors of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Jansons, who was chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the time, had formerly been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/mariss-jansons-leave-royal-concertgebouw-orchestra\">music director of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sexist conductors… Gustav Mahler<\/h2>Before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/gustav-mahler\">Gustav Mahler<\/a><\/strong> married the beautiful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/who-was-alma-mahler\">Alma Schindler<\/a><\/strong>, he insisted on an extraordinary pre-nuptial agreement \u2013 that she give up her composing. The moody and authoritarian Mahler feared that a wife \u2013 particularly a young and flirtatious one who spent her time being creative \u2013 would not give him the undivided attention he required. <\/p>‘The role of composer, the worker’s role, falls to me,’ he wrote. ‘Yours is that of a loving companion and understanding partner… I’m asking a very great deal \u2013 and I can and may do so because I know what I have to give and will give in exchange.’\u00a0<\/p>Alma consented, but with extreme reluctance. She wrote in her diary: ‘How hard it is to be so mercilessly deprived of… things closest to one’s heart.’<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/composers-love-lives\">These 6 composers had miserable love lives – but forged sublime music from them<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Alma’s affair with Walter Gropius, following the death of her daughter Maria Anna at the age of five, prompted a change of heart in the composer. Before his death in 1911, Mahler began to take an interest in Alma’s composing. Under his guidance, Alma prepared five of her songs for publication, which were issued in 1910 by Mahler’s own publisher,\u00a0Universal Edition.<\/p>By then, however, the damage was done – and we can but guess at the works Alma Mahler might have written in better circumstances. <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/controversy-karajan-eight-quotes\">Karajan in quotes: 8 comments about the controversial conductor by critics and performers <\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sexist comments by conductors… Thomas Beecham<\/h2>Best known for his association with the London and Royal philharmonic orchestras, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/thomas-beecham\">Sir Thomas Beecham<\/a><\/strong> was a major influence on British musical life. When the 50-year-old maestro made his debut with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/berlin-philharmonics-past-chief-conductors\/\">Berlin Philharmonic<\/strong><\/a> on 29 January 1930, his rapport with them was immediate. At the end of their first rehearsal, the players gave him a standing ovation.<\/p>But the much-loved conductor was also known for his rapier wit. He once described the sound of the harpsichord as ‘two skeletons copulating on a tin roof’. And on another occasion he rudely declared that ‘the British may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes’.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/conductor-types\">‘He was rumoured to carry a loaded revolver: from tyrant to comedian, meet the 15 types of conductor<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Sometimes this ‘wit’ tipped over the edge into outright disrespect. During one rehearsal, Beecham thought that his female soloist was playing less than adequately on her fine Italian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/cello\">cello<\/a><\/strong>. He stopped the orchestra and declared:<\/p>‘Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands and all you can do is scratch it.’<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sir Thomas Beecham Leads English Orchestra\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QGpDkaOYjAA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sir Thomas Beecham introduces the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and describes it as ‘much the best that has even been under my baton’<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Male conductors disparaging their female counterparts <\/h2>In 2013, then-Royal Liverpool Philharmonic chief conductor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/vasily-petrenko-steps-away-from-post-at-russian-orchestra-until-peace-is-restored\">Vasily Petrenko<\/a><\/strong> caused heads to be buried in hands when he opined that \u2018a sweet girl on the podium can make one\u2019s thoughts drift towards something else\u2019. He later rolled back on the statement, saying: ‘I’d encourage any girl to study conducting. How successful they turn out to be depends on their talent and their work, definitely not their gender.’<\/p>That same year, Petrenko’s Russian compatriot Yuri Temirkanov declared in an interview for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/culture\/culture-desk\/women-gays-and-classical-music\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The New Yorker<\/a><\/strong><\/em> that \u2018the essence of the conductor\u2019s profession is strength; the essence of a woman is weakness.\u2019 <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/trouble-karajan\">Herbert von Karajan: godlike conductor, ambitious autocrat and Nazi Party member<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Temirkanov\u2019s views were echoed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/director-paris-conservatory-declares-conducting-too-demanding-women\">Bruno Mantovani<\/a><\/strong>, head of the Paris Conservatoire, who told the radio station\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.francemusique.fr\/actualite-musicale\/ou-sont-les-femmes-dans-la-musique-classique-3175\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">France Musique<\/a><\/strong> in 2013 that many women were put off by the physical demands of conducting:<\/p>\u2018The profession of a conductor is a profession that is particularly physically testing. Sometimes women are discouraged by the very physical aspect,’ he said. ‘Conducting, taking a plane, taking another plane, conducting again. It is quite challenging. A woman who wants to have children will have a hard time having a career as a conductor, which can mean changing tack abruptly overnight for several months\u2026 Raising a child at a distance isn\u2019t easy.\u2019<\/p>Finally, acclaimed Finnish teacher Jorma Panula told MTV that, for women conductors, \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/anton-bruckner\">Bruckner<\/a><\/strong> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/igor-stravinsky\">Stravinsky<\/a><\/strong> will not do, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/claude-debussy\">Debussy<\/a><\/strong> is okay. This is purely an issue of biology.\u2019<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 14:29 PM Despite their artistic genius, sometimes even the best conductors have been bigoted, derogatory and downright chauvinistic in their attitudes and remarks. 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Here are some egregious examples of sexist comments by conductors… Sexist comments by conductors… Mariss Jansons Mariss Jansons, who died in 2019, created headlines back…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/48011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}