Maestras – The long journey of women to the podium

Synopsis

Being a female conductor means being an exception. Even today. When a woman stands on the podium she is, in most cases, somehow “the first”: the first to lead a world-class orchestra, the first to conduct the “Last Night of the Proms” in London, the first to win the German Conductor Prize. For decades, this sensational character has been tradition. At the same time it seems that the world of the maestro is now in a state of upheaval. The young Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who took over the post of Andris Nelsons in Birmingham this September, said with conviction: “I really believe that something is changing now.” But why is it that there have been so few female conductors in the international music scene? To take a closer look at this phenomenon, the 53-minute film MAESTRAS follows several female conductors. This historical retrospective is supplemented by the memories of Hedy Graber. She is the daughter of Hedy Salquin, the first Swiss female conductor, who in 1955 received a letter from the Hessian Radio with the words: “Dear Mr. Salquin, although you are a woman we are addressing you with “Mr.” Moreover, we don’t have any use for you.”

Additional Info

• No: 9898
• Artists: With Sylvia Caduff, Barbara Hannigan, Marin Alsop, Anu Tali, Gabriela Montero, Konstantia Gourzi and other
• Production year: 2016
• Run time: 00:53:00
• Director: Günter Atteln & Maria Stodtmeier
• Producers: Accentus Music in co-production with SRF
• Format: HDTV 16:9