The gender gap continues to be a pending issue in the classical music sector, not only for politics and cultural management but also for the programming of each facility. This is confirmed by a new study carried out by the RESCUE research group of the University of Barcelona, according to which the programmed composers account for 8.6% of the total and their works, 3.9%, with the romantic Clara Wieck and Pauline Viardot-García, and the baroque Barbara Strozzi in front. And the Catalan ones would correspond to only 0.5% of the total works programmed. "That means that there is only a female representation of 1.7%," says Dr. Magda Polo, author of the report together with Dr. Arlinda Garcia.
The Catalan Association of Classical Music Interpreters (ACIMC) has presented this report entitled The current situation of classical music in Catalonia, a commission made to the UB and for which the activity carried out during the year 2021 has been taken as a study basis. in the territory. The objective is to obtain reliable data that allow making correct decisions in cultural policy in Catalonia.
Contemporary female composers are the most programmed, logically, since the generational change is revealed. Even so, those 30 current women whose music was performed in Catalonia during 2021 represent only 11.4% of the composers who were present in this period. "That fact cannot be understood, but it cannot be, because women composers exist today and there is no possible explanation," says the doctor and president of the ACIMC, Lluís Rodríguez Salvà. Although as far as interpreters are concerned, the proportion is much more equal.
Correcting the gender bias is one of the great challenges ahead of the classic in Catalonia. Another pending matter is the centralization of the equipment, and this is shown by this report whose budget is around 9,000 euros. "It is an important bet because there is "a great lack of information in relation to music, and in particular classical music", Rodríguez Salvà assured during the presentation.
The data from the 2021 study have shown an unbalanced presence of classical music in the territory, since 7 out of 10 venues dedicated to its programming are located in Barcelona. Figures that improve in the case of festivals, since 40.1% of them are held in the province of Lleida, 29.9% in Barcelona, 24.8% in Girona and 5 .1%, in Tarragona.
At an economic level, the authors of the study have shown that a single entity, the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, receives 20% of the total budget for grants from the Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises (ICEC).
The first 5 entities take almost half of the budget (49.6%) and, consequently, 65% of the entities receive less than 15% of the total amount of aid from ICEC.
Rodríguez has identified 10 general conclusions for the Catalan classical music sector, including the reduction of difficulties in finding information and the easy access of this music to a wider audience.
It is also necessary to encourage decentralization to achieve stable programming "beyond Barcelona" and correct gender bias, promoting rectification policies to "encourage and normalize" the role of women in classical music.
The president of ACIMC has pointed out that it is "fundamental" to bet on the investigation and dissemination of Catalan heritage because, for example, in 2021 no scheduled composer from the period up to the 16th century was Catalan.
In the economic field, it is considered that equitable financing should be offered in aid and subsidies, which should be accompanied by an increase in the budget, since there is a "lack of financing of the classic in general".
