clara wieck had prodigious abilities on the piano and a prolific musical imagination what could have been an appropriate romantic gift for her perhaps not a cookbook yet that is what robert schumann gave her upon marriage when alma schindler a great viennese beauty and composer of exquisite songs married gustav mahler almost two decades her senior he forced her to give up music i have been firmly taken by the arm and led away from myself and i long to return to where i was she wrote later wistfully hildegard von bingen a 12th century benedictine abbess composer and polymath who was among the most important scientists of her age once admonished an archbishop her punishment proscription from singing myriad episodes of such casual or purposeful misogyny have been highlighted by australian soprano danielle de niese who made the documentary unsung heroines for the bbc last year but how long can good music be ignored the works of clara schumann alma mahler von bingen and scores of other women have survived and are today being studied performed and celebrated mumbai the indian home of western classical music just joined in the celebrationsin the bicentennial year of the birth of clara schumann a mumbai pianist with the support of an arts patron is hosting a special programme con brio 2019 more schumania by showcasing the work of women composers right from the 11th century till the 21steven though we have chosen the most famous and truly skilled women composers it turns out that most professional classical musicians havent heard of more than half of them says pianist parvesh java the festivals director its truly fitting for our tenth edition to bring these women to the forefrontthe first con brioa musical term meaning with vigor marked the bicentenary of robert schumanns birth and was called schumania ten years on quite appropriately it is the wifes turn clara schumann who was a child prodigy was never an unknown and is spoken of in the same breath as the great masters she was also a beacon for women composers and instrumentalists who came after this edition of con brio will feature her piano trio her unfinished piano concerto and some of her songseach concert on all three days of the festival thursday saturday and sunday will include a work by clara schumann and will begin with an invocation composed by hildegard von bingen who is the first named composer in history male or female says anthony gomes director furtados music which has been integral to con brios successbesides them and alma mahler the most distinguished composers on the festivals roster are the 16th and 17th century italians barbara strozzi and francesca caccini and the 20th centurys nadia boulanger and sofia gubaidulina while the last two are loved and respected not many listeners have heard of strozzi and caccini what explains the long neglect of women composers classical music is still a mans world the dominance of male composers is staggering is the patriarchy