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In this Essay series, musicologist Natasha Loges shines the spotlight on five women pianists from across the globe. Each woman faced difference challenges, not only of gender and race, but also social class, sexuality and family responsibilities. Each life unfolded against a tumultuous background of World Wars, the Cultural Revolution and the Vietnam War. These women confronted personal and professional challenges – often controversially – to find creative fulfilment as musicians.

Programme 4: Chiquinha Gonzaga

We head to the other side of the globe with Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847–1935), Brazil’s first woman conductor. An all-round trailblazer, the part-mestiza Gonzaga repeatedly overcame barriers of gender, race and class. She boldly integrated popular Brazilian music in her composition, and her pioneering genre marchinha carnavalesca helped define the sound-world of the Rio carnival. As a woman, she defied the expectations of her Catholic, middle-class and patriarchal background in late-19th century Brazil by leaving abusive relationships, and eventually found happiness in her fifties with a partner over thirty years younger than herself. Pianist Maria Teresa Madeira gives us her take on this extraordinary woman, and we hear her recordings of Chiquinha's music.