03/08/2026
"The Orchestra That Broke a Barrier"
The first Canadian orchestra to play in Carnegie Hall is a group you probably have never heard of. What this pioneering group says about the changing impact of women in classical music.
While women have always made music, they have often been kept away from the organized business of public performance, despite a culture that suggested playing the piano was a proper “accomplishment” for young ladies. Women were meant to perform only at home, never on the stage. Alma Mahler was a precocious talent before she met her husband Gustav, but he forbade her to compose. There were exceptions: Clara Schumann (née Wieck), for example, was known as one of the great piano artists of her age. Still, the world of orchestral playing was generally considered a male activity.
This started to change in the early 1900s. American violinist Maud Powell became a prominent soloist. Her career included performances with ensembles like the Berlin Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, and her advocacy for the Sibelius Violin Concerto—she gave its first performance in North America—helped the work gain the popularity it still enjoys today. Powell was still touring when Ethel Stark was born in Montreal in 1910.
Read full story through https://calgaryclassical.ca/feature/132-The-Orchestra-That-Broke-a-Barrier
Written by Jonathan Gresl
Photo credit: Engin Akyurt via Pixabay
