Is there such a thing as “female” and “male” music? The life of Croatian composer Dora Pejačević clearly shows that – like many other women composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries – she had far fewer opportunities in the musical world than her male colleagues. Yet her aristocratic background and a mother who was herself a composer afforded her certain freedoms. Step by step, Pejačević found her way into concert programmes throughout the Habsburg Monarchy, with works ranging from piano and vocal music to the symphony, a genre traditionally considered “male”.

The reception of her music illustrates how difficult it is to classify music according to gender: while some critics described her compositions as “feminine”, others recognised in them a “masculine” expressive power. What remains beyond doubt, however, is Dora Pejačević’s artistic significance – as one of the most outstanding women composers of her era.