ABSTRACT
Standard histories of music usually make no mention of women except as the wives, mistresses, sisters or mothers of famous male musicians. Indeed, women's involvement in the history of music has not generally been seen as a valid or interesting aspect of musicology at all. It is known that women have been involved as performers and composers in all periods of history from antiquity to the present day. An area that has attracted interest from musicological circles is the relationship between gender and musical meaning. Music becomes symbolic of gender in various ways: through lyrics and libretti, through the gestural or narrative qualities of formal musical structures, through the gender-conventions associated with certain instruments, styles, audiences or performance venues. Some music educators have recently begun to enquire into gender issues and to ask about their implications for curriculum content, teaching strategies and many other concerns.
