Women and Musical Salons in the Enlightenment

“Women and Musical Salons in the Enlightenment is a fascinating, imaginative, and richly detailed study of musical salon culture in the late eighteenth century. As Cypess argues, while salon culture in general has been extensively explored, musical salons have not. The women at the salons’ centers have often been treated as accessories to the male ‘geniuses’ they have supported, their own musical productions and activities ignored. But Cypess takes a fundamentally new approach, attempting to reimagine and recreate the lived musical experiences of those social spaces. This is an important and compelling book, executed with verve and authority, carefully considered and argued, and richly presented.” * Annette Richards, Cornell University *
“Traditional narratives in musical historiography have tended to cast (male) genius-composers as protagonists, often overlooking the variety of influential roles played by women. This book is a much needed and timely corrective. With elegant prose that moves seamlessly from theoretical perspectives to music analysis to the author’s reflection on her own performance experience, Women and Musical Salons in the Enlightenment is encyclopedic in its mastery of the relevant literature from musicology and other disciplines. Accessible and engaging to diverse readerships, this book will certainly interest scholars from a variety of fields.” * Edward Klorman, McGill University *
"Few music books can be considered revelatory, but Cypess's volume earns that accolade because it exposes vital activity in 18th-century Europe (and America) that has been all but ignored by most musicians... Although the book classes as music, it will be perfectly accessible to readers beyond the music discipline. Fascinating and compelling... Essential." * Choice *
"Rebecca Cypess’s second monograph. . . represents a remarkable achievement, or rather, several remarkable achievements – as an account of an elusive musical history, a feat of musical performance studies, a model of feminist historiography, and a courageous challenge to methodological limits." * Ad Parnassum *
"Cypess’s own virtuosity as a musician and scholar is itself amply displayed in this elegantly written and insightful study. Her interpretations are meticulous and rely on detailed study of a wealth of primary sources as well as her own experiences as a very accomplished keyboardist. . . [An] outstanding monograph." * Austrian History Yearbook *

"The strength of the book lies in Cypess’s engagement with recent scholarship. . . Cypess’s
exploration of music history from a social and cultural perspective opens the door to new ways of thinking about the past. Cypess’s analysis of the established historical narrative only adds to the enjoyment of the book. This book is recommended to anyone interested in a fresh perspective on the history of classical music."

* Quarter Notes *
"Musical salons in the late 18th century, which were mostly held in private homes and hosted by accomplished women, have often been treated as “fringe events” in music histories. Rebecca Cypess, however, has put them front and center in her engaging new book. . . . The five case studies in the book provide a fascinating cross-section, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in exploring the topic. Perhaps it will even encourage performers to delve further into the musical repertory and make new connections." * Early Music America *
"This broadly conceived and exceptionally detailed work is a collection of interdependent essays that consider the musical salon during the Enlightenment period, specifically 1760–1800, as a space for music making and as praxis for understanding music making in the West. . . . [Cypress's] essays unpack the salon’s role in the formation of the Enlightenment sense of selfhood, assess the intersections of gender and social status at play in these complex spaces, and track the salon’s transference to the colonial US at a time of profound cultural formation." * Notes *
"Cypess provides a history and philosophy of salons and then presents five representative salonniéres: Madame Brillon, Marianna Martines, Sara Levy, Angelica Kauffman, and Elizabeth Graeme. . . As Cypess ascertains, salons were liminal spaces of female agency in which they could influence cultural taste. . . . This book provides a great deal of new ideas about performance, authorship, and life for women in 18th century Europe." * Music Reference Services Quarterly *
"A comprehensive study of the involvement of women in mid-to-late-eighteenth-century European and American salons. Cypess’s work is a resounding success in its detailed descriptions of the salons, the instrumentation and music performed, and the various roles women served in these establishments. . . . Cypess’s research is outstanding and fills a notable void in the literature, rendering this book of great value to scholars of several disciplines. The work is meticulously and artfully written and will be a great asset to any library." * College Music Symposium *