In 2012, I wrote an article for The Independent saying that the world of classical music was sexist and misogynistic up to its back teeth. First, the response was spluttering outrage; next, a deluge of action. Or so it seemed. A decade on, I’m asking whether anything has changed. This is the first of two articles. Next time I’ll look at composers. First, in the wake of the film Tár, it is conductors.
These two fields are perhaps the areas where the gender imbalance is most visible. Sometimes my interviewees ask me why we are even talking about such things: surely everybody should be considered for their artistry, not gender, racial identity or any other extra-musical issue? Of course, that would be the ideal…
In 2023, just 11.2 per cent of conductors represented by artist managements were female. The figure had more than doubled since 2017, when it was 5.5 per cent. Yes, it’s better, but the number is still pitiful. A
