3416 - Celebrating Women's History in Classical Music (Judith Costello)
Course Description
Instructor: Judith Costello
During Women’s History Month 2025, join us in celebrating women’s contributions to Classical music, from the medieval cathedral to the intimate salons of the 18th and 19th centuries to the modern opera house and concert hall.
Over the course of four weeks, we’ll hear works by the multi-talented 12th-century mystic, composer, and scientist, Hildegard of Bingen. We’ll explore the musical legacies of two female prodigies — Anna Maria “Nannerl” Mozart, and Fanny Mendelssohn — whose lives and musical careers were greatly overshadowed by those of their younger brothers. And we’ll pay tribute to the distinguished career of Clara Wieck Schumann as both pianist and composer.
We’ll listen to pieces which were written, published, and performed during times when women were often discouraged from displaying their musical talents in public; and we’ll put a spotlight on some of the leading female composers, performers, and conductors active in our own day.
Bio:
Judith Mann Costello is a native of Oak Park, Illinois, where she divided her first 20 years between the family bookstore founded by her grandfather and the Frank Lloyd Wright home where she was raised.
She has lived in NYC, Florida, and Michigan, and, since 1984, in the Atlanta area. Educated at Northwestern University and Hunter College, she holds a degree in Music Journalism from the University of South Florida.
Following a long career as a classical music host for NPR stations WUSF and WFBE, Judith spent 25 years as academic and political officer for the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta, retiring in 2013.