10 women who changed the classical music world forever

10 women who changed the classical music world forever

Latest

Exclusive
First female musician in New York Philharmonic ‘said no’ to Oscar-winning documentary

First female musician in New York Philharmonic ‘said no’ at first to Oscar-winning film about her life

New York Phil

Doreen Carwithen is known as the world’s first full-time female film composer

Meet Doreen Carwithen, the world’s first fully-professional female film composer

Saint Cecilia Playing The Organ.

Who was St Cecilia? Meet the patron saint of music and musicians

Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

Four women conductors lead the Met Opera in one week – in historic first

Four women conductors lead the Met Opera in one week – in historic first

New York Metropolitan Opera

Exclusive
The Donne Foundation has successfully set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Acoustic Music Live-Streamed Concert, with a 26-hour concert of music by women and non-binary composers.

Musicians break Guinness World Record with 26-hour concert of music by women composers

Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn

Who was Fanny Mendelssohn, the unsung composer whose music was published under her brother’s name?

Happy Birthday

5 famous melodies you didn’t realise were written by women... including ‘Happy Birthday’

Hélène de Montgeroult, the incredible woman whose music saved her life in revolutionary France

Hélène de Montgeroult – the French composer who played piano to save herself from the guillotine

Exclusive
Amy Beach’s stunning violin Romance

Amy Beach’s stunning Romance, played by a rising star violinist for International Women’s Day

The 10 greatest pieces by German composer Fanny Mendelssohn.

The 10 greatest pieces of music by Fanny Mendelssohn, ranked

Florence Price had her work premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Meet Florence Price, the first Black woman to have her work premiered by a US orchestra

Price, F

Nina Simone, Marian Anderson and Sheku Kanneh-Mason (left to right) are just some of the famous faces that have left their mark on the classical music world

25 Black musicians who have shaped the classical music world

Who was Felicia Montealegre, Chilean actress and Leonard Bernstein’s wife?

Who was Felicia Montealegre, Chilean actress and Leonard Bernstein’s wife?

Bernstein, L

Marin Alsop is one of the world’s greatest conductors and a fierce supporter for the next generation of maestros.

Who is Marin Alsop? The trailblazing American conductor, music director and mentor

Marin Alsop

Women Composers

See more Women Composers

Clara Schumann

Rachel Portman

Florence Price

Hildegard of Bingen

Women Artists

See more Women Artists

Nicola Benedetti

Isata Kanneh-Mason

Anna Lapwood

Yuja Wang

Mood

See more Mood

Studying

Relaxing

Happy

Epic

Romantic

Baby

Occasions

See more Occasions

Wedding

Memorial

Valentine’s Day

Christmas

Latest on Classic FM

Did you know the Duchess of Kent secretly taught music at a primary school for 13 years?

When the Duchess of Kent went undercover as a primary school music teacher for 13 years

Kennedy Center audience boos JD Vance before Shostakovich violin concerto

Audience boos JD Vance at classical concert following Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover
Steven Spielberg, Bill Clinton and Tina Fey all played in their school orchestras

11 famous figures you never knew could play a musical instrument

Traitors star Alexander Dragonetti joins Classic FM for new Friday night series

Traitors star Alexander Dragonetti joins Classic FM for new Friday night series

Renowned Masters of the King’s and Queen’s Music: Elgar, Errollyn Wallen, Nicholas Lanier

10 renowned Masters of the King’s and Queen’s Music

Ewan McGregor played the French horn on national TV aged 16

When 16-year-old Ewan McGregor played a French horn solo on national TV

Videos

What is an aria, and how is it different from a song? (Pictured: Nadine Sierra performing at a ball, and in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet)

What is an aria, and how is it different from a song?

Is this what Mozart really looked like?

Have scientists solved the 230-year-old mystery of Mozart’s real face?

Mozart

Hear Amanda Seyfried play enchanting Joni Mitchell song on the dulcimer, a 19th-century instrument

Hear Amanda Seyfried play enchanting Joni Mitchell song on the dulcimer, a 19th-century instrument

Videos

Figure skater Isabella Aparicio performs poignant routine to her father Luciano’s ‘Pachelbel’s Canon’ recording

16-year-old figure skater performs to late father’s ‘Pachelbel’s Canon’ in heart-breaking tribute