The Role of Women Impresarios in American Concert Life, 1871-1933

Women have been major supporters of music making in America. Through their patronage, volunteer efforts, and donations of time, they have nurtured the careers of composers and performers, founded symphony orchestras and opera companies, financed performance spaces and music festivals, encouraged the growth of chamber ensembles and educational institutions, and promoted artistic retreats. Women's support of these institutions of American concert life began during the closing decades of the nineteenth century, a century that witnessed the popularization of concert organizations by an expanding middle class, the entry of women into the public sphere, and the emergence of women as the chief promoters of culture.' Women received numerous accolades in the turn-of-the-century press for their work on behalf of music making; for example, there is this 1901 description in Musical America by an unnamed German singer of note

Art · History · Music History and Culture · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Theater, Performance, and Music History