Ayez, Mademoiselle, le Courage d’être Savante. Gender, Music and Women in Diderot’s Thought

Authors

  • Miriam Bastos Marzal Departamento de Piano. Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. España

Keywords:

Diderot, Learning, Making Music, Feminism, Genius, Equality, Enlightenment, Women

Abstract

In Denis Diderot numerous and often contradictory writings on aesthetics and music we find continuous references to a conception of the figure of genius in which some of the features that would be consolidated during Romanticism are already outlined.. We start by studying the powerful aesthetical changes that happen during the last third part of the eighteen century. Consequently in order to examine Diderot’s conception of genius we have to deal with: the impossible attempt to rationally explain the human existence —despite the empirical evidence—, how the apparition of the genius is affected by external factors like education, the indispensable correlation between to be a genius and possess an eccentric personality or not to be a person ruled by the aesthetics conventions. Considering these statements we will tackle the position of women in society given by Diderot; as well as the conceptual category of genius is expressed in women’s personality.

Author Biography

Miriam Bastos Marzal, Departamento de Piano. Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. España

Pianista y musicóloga, realiza sus estudios de piano en los conservatorios de Valladolid (Premio de Honor Fin de Carrera), Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid y Accademia Musicale Ottorino Respighi (Assisi, Italia). Finalizó los estudios de Máster en Musicología Histórica por la Universidad de La Rioja con la calificación de Premio Extraordinario. Especializada en feminismo musical, compagina su actividad como concertista con la enseñanza y con la divulgación musical. Guionista y presentadora de los espacios Solo piano, Temas de música y, actualmente, La música que habitamos en Radio Clásica, (Radio Nacional de España). Publicaciones en Ritmo (Madrid, 2017), 440Clàssica (Barcelona, 2018), Historia de la Educación (Universidad de Salamanca, 2019), Vislumbres, (Roma, Oficina Cultural de la Embajada de España en Italia, 2021). Actualmente ejerce la docencia en el Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, donde ocupa la Jefatura de Estudios de Ordenación Académica.

Additional Files

Published

2023-06-05

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 1 (2023): Dossier: The brilliant and the everyday: stories of women who make music

Section

Dossier

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Revista Argentina de Musicología

ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL 4.0 INTERNATIONAL

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

You are free to:

  1. Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  2. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
  3. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

  1. Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  2. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes .
  3. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rightsmay limit how you use the material.