Vera Wolkowicz | Between Emancipation and Family Duty: Latin American Women Musicians in Europe in the Early 20th Century AbstractAt the beginning of the 20th century, many Latin American musicians sought to perfect their studies in Europe. Both musically talented men and women were sponsored by their governments to continue their studies in institutions or privately with internationally recognised teachers. Most of the men were then able to pursue careers as performers, composers, conductors and/or in government positions in the cultural field in their home countries. As for the women, some were able to pursue successful careers as musicians but, due to their gender, in many cases they found themselves at a crossroads, having to choose between an artistic career and starting a family. In this presentation, I will explore the biographies of a series of Latin American women who studied in Paris: the Argentinean sisters Ofelia (harpist) and Beatriz Guglielmini (violinist), the Brazilians Magda Tagliaferro (pianist) and Guiomar Novaes (pianist), the Argentinean Celia Torrá (violinist, composer, conductor), the Ecuadorian Isabel Rosales Pareja (pianist) and the Colombian Lucía Gutiérrez Samper (pianist). By reconstructing their biographies and life stories, I will analyse the impact of their studies in France on their subsequent musical careers and the extent to which this experience did or did not determine their decision to choose a professional artistic life or to abandon it in order to raise a family. I aim thus to reveal the complex choices women musicians had to make in the early 20th century, and the social and gender (pre)conceptions that determined them.BiographyVera Wolkowicz is a lecturer in musicology at the University of Glasgow (UK). Between 2022 and 2024 she was a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the EHESS (Paris). Her work focuses on Latin American musical nationalisms and transatlantic relations between music and musicians in the early 20th century. She is the author of Inca Music Reimagined(Oxford University Press, 2022). Oct 22 2026 17.15 - 18.45 Vera Wolkowicz | Between Emancipation and Family Duty: Latin American Women Musicians in Europe in the Early 20th Century Vera Wolkowicz explores the careers of Latin American women who studied music in Paris in the early twentieth century. Alison House Lecture Room A (second floor) 12 Nicolson Square Edinburgh EH8 9DF This article was published on Thursday 10 September 2026
Vera Wolkowicz | Between Emancipation and Family Duty: Latin American Women Musicians in Europe in the Early 20th Century AbstractAt the beginning of the 20th century, many Latin American musicians sought to perfect their studies in Europe. Both musically talented men and women were sponsored by their governments to continue their studies in institutions or privately with internationally recognised teachers. Most of the men were then able to pursue careers as performers, composers, conductors and/or in government positions in the cultural field in their home countries. As for the women, some were able to pursue successful careers as musicians but, due to their gender, in many cases they found themselves at a crossroads, having to choose between an artistic career and starting a family. In this presentation, I will explore the biographies of a series of Latin American women who studied in Paris: the Argentinean sisters Ofelia (harpist) and Beatriz Guglielmini (violinist), the Brazilians Magda Tagliaferro (pianist) and Guiomar Novaes (pianist), the Argentinean Celia Torrá (violinist, composer, conductor), the Ecuadorian Isabel Rosales Pareja (pianist) and the Colombian Lucía Gutiérrez Samper (pianist). By reconstructing their biographies and life stories, I will analyse the impact of their studies in France on their subsequent musical careers and the extent to which this experience did or did not determine their decision to choose a professional artistic life or to abandon it in order to raise a family. I aim thus to reveal the complex choices women musicians had to make in the early 20th century, and the social and gender (pre)conceptions that determined them.BiographyVera Wolkowicz is a lecturer in musicology at the University of Glasgow (UK). Between 2022 and 2024 she was a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the EHESS (Paris). Her work focuses on Latin American musical nationalisms and transatlantic relations between music and musicians in the early 20th century. She is the author of Inca Music Reimagined(Oxford University Press, 2022). Oct 22 2026 17.15 - 18.45 Vera Wolkowicz | Between Emancipation and Family Duty: Latin American Women Musicians in Europe in the Early 20th Century Vera Wolkowicz explores the careers of Latin American women who studied music in Paris in the early twentieth century. Alison House Lecture Room A (second floor) 12 Nicolson Square Edinburgh EH8 9DF This article was published on Thursday 10 September 2026
Oct 22 2026 17.15 - 18.45 Vera Wolkowicz | Between Emancipation and Family Duty: Latin American Women Musicians in Europe in the Early 20th Century Vera Wolkowicz explores the careers of Latin American women who studied music in Paris in the early twentieth century.
