In 2007 the Norwegian Music Information Centre (MIC) initiated the status report on music and gender. The study shows that Norwegian women are distinctly underrepresented in music production. How do Norwegian women composers perceive their own working conditions today? Does ‘gender’ still play any role?

From a German point of view Scandinavia is considered to be a model region of gender equality. Where does this impression come from? In what way is it shaped by clichés and stereotypes and in what way does it influence the German perception of the Norwegian (music-) culture? Does the scientific description of cultural similarities and differences pose any specific challenges?

Most well-known Norwegian women composers are from the second half of the 19th century. They published their music, performed their own compositions in public concerts and received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Were there effectively better conditions for women composers in Norway compared to Germany? Or does this impression root in the historical analysis of music production by Norwegian historians? What role does music history actually play concerning the construction of a positive image of women composers in 19th century Norway? In what ways does musicological analysis open a space of possibilities for the visibility of the cultural activity of women?

These and similar questions are addressed by the project musikk || musik. Space for possibilities of women composers in Norway. It aims to initiate a cultural dialogue at the research centre Music and Gender of the University of Music, Theatre and Media in Hannover.

Translation: Lilli Mittner/Karina Seefeldt