For many centuries, women composers and performers were kept from public view. Tradition deemed it only proper that females confine themselves to the domestic arts and leave the concert hall to the men. Considered a novelty, women’s music might be heard at best in drawing rooms and recital parlors.

During this time, only a few works by women ever found their way into the standard repertoire; most compositions never received significant recognition. Recent interest in Clara Wieck Schumann has revealed that although she performed to great acclaim in public, her concerts usually presented works by her husband Robert Schumann or her friend, Johannes Brahms. Her own compositions remained largely unknown to the general public. Other women composers, who received acclaim during their lifetime, have similarly fallen into obscurity, along with their musical works.