Countering the Social Prohibition of Women's Violin Playing in England 1770-1872: Six Solo Violinists on the English Concert Stage

One of the most significant musical changes for women during the long nineteenth century was gaining access to the violin. The instrument was initially regarded as ‘unladylike’, and an informal social prohibition existed on women playing it for most of the period. However, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, female violin playing became more acceptable and the violin subsequently became an immensely popular and fashionable instrument for young women to play. The advent of the violin as an instrument for women sparked heated debate in the press, and numerous articles advocating for female players appeared in publications such as The Musical Times in 1906, The Woman’s World in 1890, and The Strad in 1894. These typically started by refuting the common objections to female violin playing, followed by lengthy lists and biographical information of historical female violinists: the press clearly regarded the influence of women violinists earlier in the century as significant, and as forming part of a long tradition of performers dating back to the end of the eighteenth century and beyond. However, much of the recent scholarship on nineteenth-century women violinists has focused on players at the end of the period, with the impact and influence of these earlier players not fully acknowledged. Through a combination of examining underpinning contemporary socio-musical ideas such as attitudes towards virtuosity and accomplishment, alongside three case-study chapters which examine nineteenth-century reviews in-depth, this work seeks to redress the balance, and consider the influence, impact and significance that the lives and careers of women violinists between 1770–1872 had on the overcoming of the violin ‘prejudice’.