Women in Classical Guitar History

Most recent update 11/7/2025

Note: I am have temporarily removed my essays and research from this blog page. I am in the process of learning more about the recent scraping of scholarship by AI and considering alternative ways to share my research and writing. I wanted to reformat the essays due to limitations of this blogging software anyway, so this seems like a good time to do so. If you need the materials for an imminent project, please send an email to me and I will forward PDFs until I update this page: cmowbraymusic@outlook.com I am glad to share this material with those who want to learn about these great players (that's the whole point of the research!) but I also want to understand how AI might alter or use the material. I was trained in the importance of vetting one's sources and citing sources. AI, not so much. In fact, according to an AI generated site, I collaborated with Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). Kind of tough considering the age difference :) Please check back as I will sort out an alternative and want to share this research. My dissertation about Ida Presti and the extensive liner notes I wrote about Maria Luisa Anido and Presti for the GRAMMY Award-winning album Legado by Berta Rojas are accessible at the links.

• Link to dissertation

• Link to Legado liner notes

• Link to discussion about Josefina Robledo on Classical Guitar Heroines

The Essays

Entries that were posted here included:

Francesca Caccini (1587-ca. 1645)

Regina Strinasacchi (ca. 1761-1839)

Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi (1813-1850)

Madame Sidney Pratten - Catherina Josepha Pelzer (1821-1895)

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford - Ethel Lucretia Olcott (1885-1980)

Josefina Robledo (1892-1972)

Maria Luisa Anido (1907-1996)

Luise Walker (1910-1998)

Ida Presti (1924-1967)

Each extensive entry included a scholarly essay with citations and lists of recommended recordings, sheet music and additional resources.

I created playlists to accompany lectures that I give on this topic and those are here:

Youtube Playlist

Spotify Playlist (Abridged, 62 minutes)

Spotify Playlist (Long, 4 hours)

Additional entries to be added over the course of this ongoing work may include:

Renata Tarrago (1927-2005)

Rosita Rodes

Pepita Roca

Clara Monteith Holland

Dona Maria Martinez

Luisa M. de Roca

Matilde Cuervas

Nelly Ezcaray

Maria Angelica Funes

Teresa de Rogatis

Blanca Prat

Maria Rita Brondi (1889 -1941)

Madeleine Cottin (1876 -after 1952)

Julie Fondard (ca.1819 -1864)

Madame De Goni - Madame Knoop - Delores de Goni (1813-1892)

Olga Coehlo

Consuelo Mallo Lopez

Maria Bello

Carmen Farre

Celia Rodrigues Boque

Maria Esperanza Pascual Navas

Irma Haydee Perazzo

Barbara Strozzi

Monina Tavora

Elsie Tooker

Jennie Durkee

Gertrude Miller

Susan Domett (1826-1911)

Julia Piston (ca. 1800-1842)

Angiolina Panormo Huerta (1811-1900)

Please check back for my update.

About the Essays

Since the early 2000's, I have collected a mass of information about women who played and/or composed for the classical guitar. From these materials, I have given numerous lectures and written several essays which were published on this page. I aim to share the stories of these great musicians, support their inclusion in the general discussion of guitar history, encourage performance of their works, and guide readers to resources. The essays are, at times, purposefully over-cited to direct readers to resources and draw them to the projects and writings of other people who have been working in this area of research and performance. I think of my efforts as a hub, hopefully guiding new researchers to resources, honoring and promoting the work of others, and presenting writings and lectures in scholarly yet accessible voice.

Seven of my essays were edited and published across two issues of the Guitar Foundation of America's journal, Soundboard, in 2021. The versions of my essays provided on this site include my unedited citations and extra resources.

I revisit this work and make updates to this page as an ongoing labor of love. The essays here certainly do not represent a definitive list of women classical guitarists or even the scope of my lectures and research: it's just a step toward sharing. I anticipate the need to update my writing and lectures as more people engage in this area of research and share new findings. I have diligently tried to honor and cite the sources I have referenced through the years and hope new researchers will be kind and cite my work as I take my place in this lineage. If you use my writing as a resource, your citation is appreciated.

Please continue to check back and you are welcome to share resources with me.

Support

My research is independently funded. I would like to extend my appreciation to Berta Rojas who commissioned research from me in contribution to her album, Legado, which won two Latin GRAMMY Awards, and to the many people through the years who supported and encouraged me to continue with this and other areas of research, writing, and lecturing.

If you would like to help support my work, consider "buying me a coffee" at https://ko-fi.com/candicemowbray. This helps me to purchase books, subscriptions, recordings and other research materials. If you have resources to share or donate (ex. news clippings, letters, journals, scores, etc), please contact me through email. I also have a Wish List from which you can gift materials. Thank you.