VIRTUOSA
Virtuosa is a zine showcasing women composers of classical music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. The education of classical (Western European) music has traditionally been very male-centric. The works of Mozart, Chopin and Bach are extensively studied, performed and used, but their female contemporaries are often not afforded the same attention. This zine aims to shine a light on some of these women to encourage people, particularly classical music lovers, to seek out work and learn beyond classical music's male-centrism.
HIGHLIGHTING THE SUBJECT
The zine has a classic and elegant look to reflect the composers' time period. The colours used are ungendered, neither too masculine nor feminine, representing the assumption that many women composers of that time faced about their music being "feminine". The colour palette is also intentionally limited to two colours to draw focus to the composers' works as the publishing and archiving of written music is a major factor in ensuring a composer's visibility and legacy in the music world.
EVALUATING THE PROJECT
Researching for this project was really fun and a great way of learning and discovering new composers. I initially planned to include a lot more composers but ultimately decided to keep it to four as this is a zine not an encyclopedia. Expanding on the project is a possibility to allow more women composers to be showcased, particularly non-European and non-white composers.