Diane Worthey Livres

In a time when women were told they couldn't become conductors, Antonia Brico didn’t listen to discouraging words. Those words went in one ear and out the other.The second title in Penny Candy’s Amazing Women Series of nonfiction picture books,In One Ear and Out the Other: The Amazingly Musical Life of Antonia Brico tells the story of one woman’s fight to gain recognition as a conductor in an era when men dominated classical music. The first woman to guest-conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Antonia Brico never secured a permanent conducting job with a major symphony—but her contributions paved the way for the many women conductors to follow. A true visionary in the long fight for equal opportunities for women.

"In 1867 England, a girl learned to be proper and speak when spoken to. But one girl marched to a different beat. Ethel Smyth climbed fences, explored graveyards, and yearned to become a famous composer at a time when only men could publisher their music. But become a composer she did, first signing her music as E. Smyth so people couldn't guess her gender then eventually writing openly as a woman (but still sometimes not getting paid!). Ethel had had enough. She joined the suffragette movement, marching in the streets and fighting for the right to vote. She even composed the famous 'March of the Women' battle cry--and directed it from her cell window with a toothbrush when she was put in prison."-- Page 4 of cover