On Thursday (10/24), NYC-based classical station WQXR ran a segment in which Naomi Lewin discussed the current situation of female conductors. “The absence of women conductors at the world’s top orchestras is no longer news, but it stands out more every year, as women scale male bastions in business, sports and entertainment. Of the 20 largest orchestras in the U.S., only the Baltimore Symphony has a woman music director: Marin Alsop, who last month made history as the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms concert in its nearly 120-year history. In New York this season, women conductors are noticeably scarce, their scheduled appearances countable on one hand.… But that’s not to say that there’s a lack of women conductors in the field. Recently, the British journalist and author Jessica Duchen compiled a list of more than 100 women conductors. ‘It’s quite clear to me that there are plenty of women conductors but they’re just not getting the top gigs,’ she says.… Charlotte Lee, a vice president and artist manager at IMG Artists, sees less evidence that sexism is widespread in the classical music business, and believes that hiring boils down to questions of supply and demand.… ‘I should hope in 10 years we won’t be having this conversation.’ ”
Posted October 25, 2013
