When I put together my list of the greatest composers—all male—I promised to take a look at women composers. Here is the fulfillment of that promise.

Not being a scholar or musicologist, I’ve contacted two women recognized for their performing or composing activities: Virginia Eskin, a pianist and lecturer known for her long time championing of women composers; and Diana Dabby, a pianist, composer and professor of music and electrical engineering at Olin College.

The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers has entries on 875 women composers in the western classical tradition. If you Google “women composers,” you can easily come up with websites that list hundreds, if not thousands, more. Sadly, none of them wrote works that come up to the level of the acclaimed (male) masters.

Given the cultural and social forces working against women, this is no surprise, says Eskin.

“Women haven’t been encouraged or allowed to compose, so greatness isn’t in the equation,” says Eskin. “Rather, you have to go step by step and look at each woman on her merits, realizing it’s a miracle she did it at all!”

The “big four” women composers who have reached some level of public awareness are Clara Schumann, wife of Robert, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, sister of Felix, Hildegard of Bingen, the medieval abbess and mystic, and Amy Beach, the renowned pianist and composer of the late 19^th and first half of the 20^th century.

The case of Clara Schumann is instructive. Groomed by her father to become a virtuoso, she was a pianist and composer with an international reputation when she married the relatively unknown Robert Schumann in 1840. Norton/Grove comments that “his work took priority over hers, and for many years her composing and practicing were relegated to hours when her husband would not be disturbed.”

Eskin notes that Clara “was too busy tending to Robert” to pay attention to her own career. She left some poignant works, though, that are “flawed, full of beauty and full of palpitations.”

Eskin asserts the situation has improved for women in the modern era, both as composers and performers.

“Living women are much better off—and it’s looking better all the time,” she says.

Dabby feels the same way. “There are many more opportunities for women musicians and composers,” says Dabby. “If you look at many of the U.S. symphony orchestras, you’ll see about 40 – 50 percent women.”

I asked Eskin and Dabby to help me identify women composers, living and dead, whose works deserve attention.

Eskin points to Kaija Saariaho, a Finnish composer of electronic music born in 1952, who is receiving top-level commissions and concert performances of her works. She also singles out American composer and violinist Ellen Zwilich, who in 1983 became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in music.

Eskin calls Jennifer Higdon, born in Brooklyn in 1962, a “stand out.” Her Violin Concerto, also a Pulitzer winner, was written in collaboration with the violinist Hillary Hahn, who has released a recording of it paired with the Tchaikovsky concerto on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Eskin also respects Gabriela Frank, born in 1972, and Dalit Warshaw, who is on the composition faculty at the Boston Conservatory.

Dabby believes Lili Boulanger should be better known. Boulanger, whose older sister Nadia became a mentor to many 20^th Century composers, was plagued by disease much of her short life, but still managed to become the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1913 with her cantata Faust et Hélène.

Eskin recently released a disk of the works of Vitezslava Kapralova, a Czech composer whose brief life was framed by the two world wars.

Here’s a listing of the chief works of several other women composers mentioned in this blog:

Saariaho: Many of her works combine traditional instruments with tape or electronics, including Verblendungen for orchestra and tape, Jardin secret II for harpsichord and tape and Nymphea for string quartet and live electronics (written for the Kronos Quartet). The Finnish label Ondine has released a recording of several of her works, including Nymphea, in performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Kronos Quartet.

Zwilich: She has written several symphonies and concertos, as well as numerous choral and chamber works. Amazon lists quite a few recordings, including a disk of concertos on the Koch International Classics label.

Boulanger: A strong Catholic, Boulanger wrote many sacred and secular choral pieces, including Du fond d l’abîme, based on a psalm, as well as chamber music and songs. Amazon also lists quite a few recordings for her, including a 1968 disk of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by her sister Nadia; it offers several of Lili’s works combined with the Faure Requiem. The disk commemorates the 50th anniversary of Lili’s death.

My two cents: two of my favorite women composer recordings are the complete piano works of Clara Schumann on the CPO label, with pianist Jozef De Beenhouwer, and Das Jahr (The Year), a cycle for piano by Fannie Mendelssohn-Hensel, performed by Sarah Rothenberg on Arabesque. Both are currently available.

One last note: as I write, it is Women’s History Month; many classical stations are featuring women composers all month. Check your local listings and tune in—literally and figuratively.