A brief study of the impact of gender identity in compositions by Lori Laitman, Robert Schumann, Jane Vieu, and George Frideric Handel

This recital document started as a way to explore information about the music on my graduate recital. While my performance has been informed, this research turned into a study about how gender identity influences composers' works. The more I researched the, more I learned about how society's historical view of gender influences art. Chapter one, An Exploration of Feminine Sound, explores the idea of music imitating gender. The Fantasy of Love, chapter two, discusses possible interpretations of Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und - leben that argue for a strong protagonist instead of a subordinate woman. Chapter three, Jane Vieu Rediscovered, is a look into an unknown composer and an analysis of her song cycle Trois mélodies sur des Tankas japonais. Finally, Handel and Gender Casting in Opera, discusses how Handel composes with elements of a feminine expressions.