Accentus Music wraps documentary 'Maestras' (WT)

When a woman stands on the podium. Accentus in co-production with SRF has finished filming its new documentary “Maestras” (WT).

Being a female conductor means being an exception, even today. When a woman stands on the podium she is, in most cases, somehow still “the first”. At the same time it seems as if the world of the maestro is in a state of upheaval. The young Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, who is taking over the post of Andris Nelsons in Birmingham this September, said with conviction: “I really believe that something is changing now.”

But why is it that there have been so few female conductors in the international music scene? To take a closer look at this phenomenon, the 52-minute film "Maestras" (WT) followed several female conductors at this year’s Lucerne Festival, which with the motto “Prima Donna” dedicates itself to this theme. It also tells the story of Swiss conductor Sylvia Caduff who was assistant to Leonard Bernstein and directed the Berlin Philharmonic in 1978 when she filled in for Herbert von Karajan. Hedy Graber, the daughter of Hedy Salquin, the first Swiss female conductor, tells the story of how her mother, in 1955, received a letter from the Hessian Radio with the words: “Dear Mr. Salquin, although you are a woman we are addressing you with “Mr.” Moreover, we don’t have any use for you.”

Such an experience would be unthinkable for Mirga Gražinyte -Tyla today!
“Maestras” (WT) is a co-production of SRF and Accentus Music, directed by Maria Stodtmeier and Günter Atteln.

Genre Documentary
Production Company SRF
Production Company Accentus Music
Executive Producer Markus Wicker
Executive Producer Paul Smaczny
Director Maria Stodtmeier
Director Günter Atteln
Duration 52'