"A Jewish Maestra and a Lady too": Reflections on Femininity in the Career of Ethel Stark

Authors

  • Maria N. Rachwal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-0925.40146

Abstract

Ethel Stark (1910–2012) was one of the most important conductors and concert violinists in Canada in the Twentieth century. This article highlights how an Austro-Canadian Jewish woman who lived outside the constraints of conventional domesticity, both navigated through and defied the ideals of the “Cult of True Womanhood” and spearheads a movement of feminism in music. I argue that Stark’s exposure to Jewish cultural traditions of social justice and womanhood in her childhood formed a critical dimension of her feminist activism later in her life, and in particular in the founding of The Montreal Women’s Symphony Orchestra (1940).

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Published

2019-12-31

How to Cite

Rachwal, M. N. . (2019). "A Jewish Maestra and a Lady too": Reflections on Femininity in the Career of Ethel Stark. Canadian Jewish Studies Études Juives Canadiennes, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-0925.40146

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