BBC Proms 2006 lacks the eternal feminine

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1146848936544235872006-05-05T18:02:00.000+01:002006-05-05T21:26:17.716+01:00BBC Proms 2006 lacks the eternal feminine<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3093/528/1600/lann.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 177px" height="184" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3093/528/200/lann.jpg" width="162" border="0" /></a>How many women would you expect to find among 106 leading creative artists? Whatever your answer I bet it is a long way off zero. But that is the result the planners at the BBC came up with for the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/">2006 Proms</a> season. Here are the statistics - 106 composers are having their works performed, not one is female. And before that regular reader Anonymous emails to tell me Anne Danican Philidor's Recorder Sonata is being performed in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/2108.shtml#pcm6">Chamber Music Prom 6</a>, sorry <a href="http://composers-classical-music.com/p/PhilidorAnneDanican.htm">Anne</a> was a man (which also rhymes). On an Overgrown Path is a little more inclusive than this season's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/">BBC</a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3093/528/1600/beata.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 0px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 222px" height="237" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3093/528/200/beata.jpg" width="162" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/"> Proms</a>. In past months I've featured articles on excellent contemporary women composers including <a href="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2005/12/primetime-tv-for-new-opera.html">Judith Weir</a>, <a href="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2005/08/cure-for-marin-alsop-fatigue.html">Odaline de la Martinez</a>, <a href="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2005/12/contemporary-composer-is-very-lucky.html">Vanessa Lann</a> (that's Vanessa caressing her keyboard above) and <a href="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2005/12/new-music-in-norwich.html">Jane O'Leary</a>. And just recently <a href="http://www.beatamoon.com/">Beata Moon's</a> (left) <a href="http://www.beatamoon.com/musicframe.html">'Perigree & Apogee'</a> and <a href="http://www.carollianpiano.com/">Carole Lian's</a> solo <a href="http://www.carollianpiano.com/cdpage.html">improvisations on Haydn's Seven Last Words</a> have been in constant rotation on the CD player, together with <a href="http://www.musicweb.uk.net/keal/">Minna Keal's</a> Cello Concerto and <a href="http://www.theamusgrave.com/">Thea Musgrave's</a> Helios. Sorry to be a Gretchen, but it's a shame that none of these fine musicians have the 'global brand' status that is now the passport to a performance at the Proms. Image credit - Vanessa Lann by <a href="http://www.lann.dds.nl/index.htm">Gerhard van Roon</a>, Beata Moon from <a href="http://www.beatamoon.com/">her website </a>. Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to <a href="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2005/08/cure-for-marin-alsop-fatigue.html">Cure for Marin Alsop fatigue</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8060605-114684893654423587?l=www.overgrownpath.com'/></div>Pliablenoreply@blogger.com2