Women Composers Collection

The Women Composers Collection contains approximately 2,800 musical works by more than 700 composers. With the exception of several dozen 18th-century works, the music is almost evenly divided between the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Songs and solo piano music predominate, though choral, orchestral, dramatic, and chamber music are also represented. Most of the scores are first or early editions and, since many of the works have not subsequently been republished, much of the content is rare or even unique. Some pieces include markings or corrections from the composers themselves, and nearly 250 are manuscripts. 

Among the composers most heavily represented are Loïsa Puget, Cécile Chaminade, Augusta Holmès, Pauline Viardot, Ethel Smyth, Jeanne Boyd, Jane Vieu, Elizabeth Gould, Hedwige Chrétien, Harriet Ware, Carrie Jacobs-Bond, Pauline Duchambge, Liza Lehmann, Virginia Gabriel, Marguerite Roesgen-Champion, Mel Bonis, and Evelyn Sharp.

See what items are in the Women Composers Collection. The scores have also been digitized, with many available in HathiTrust.