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Busy Kids Love Music

Why Were So Many Women Composers Forgotten?

Mar 24, 2026

March is Women’s History Month, and in this special episode of Busy Kids Love Music, we explore a powerful and important question:

If women have been composing for centuries…why were so many of their names forgotten?

Instead of focusing on just one composer, this episode looks at the bigger historical picture — uncovering the social, cultural, and publishing barriers that kept many brilliant women composers from being widely remembered.

You’ll hear excerpts from stunning works and discover why these composers deserve a permanent place in music history.

Featured Composers & Works

Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847)

Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 11 – I. Allegro molto vivace

Clara Schumann (1819–1896)

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 7

Florence Price (1887–1953)

Symphony No. 1 in E Minor

Amy Beach (1867–1944)

Romance, Op. 23

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why women composers were often discouraged from writing large-scale orchestral works
How publishing, performance, and teaching influence which music survives
Why genre bias shaped the way music history was written
How modern musicians are rediscovering and performing long-overlooked works
Why listening itself can be an act of honoring history

Listener Challenge

This week, choose a female composer you don’t know well.

Listen to: