Letter: What is science for?

Sir: Philip Hensher is surprised that there have been no great female composers because "to sit at home and write a piano trio" is as feasible for a woman as writing a novel ("Preserving the unique sound of men behaving badly", 16 September).

However, no major composer (with the exception of Chopin) ever built their reputation through non-orchestral works alone.

To write orchestral works takes a great deal of training and practical experience with orchestras, possibly involving conducting and touring, something that very few women in the past were in a position to do.

Indeed, even writing chamber music requires a level of formal training that has never been needed for novel writing, a much more intuitive art form.

Furthermore, many important female musicians, such as Clara Schumann, were eclipsed by more famous husbands.

Incidentally, Alban Berg's subtle and moving Violin Concerto has nothing to do with Bolshevism; it was written as a requiem for Alma Mahler's daughter.

Miss HELEN JOHNS

Burton-on-Trent,

Staffordshire