Mabel Daniels: An American Composer in Transition

Composer Mabel Daniels wrote fresh-sounding works performed by renowned orchestras and ensembles during her lifetime, but her works have only recently begun to be performed today. Assessing the rich context of American art music of the first half of the twentieth century, this book accounts for why works by American women composers fell out of favour and why they should be performed more today. Daniels’ life and works evidence transition in women’s roles in composition, the professionalization of American women composers, and the role that Daniels played in the institutionalization of American art music. Daniels’ unique dual role as a patron-composer is indicative of her transitional status.

Mabel Daniels (1877–1971): An American Composer in Transition assesses Daniels within the context of American music of the first half of the twentieth century. Daniels wrote fresh sounding works that were performed by renowned orchestras and ensembles during her lifetime but her works have only recently begun to be performed again. The book explains why works by Daniels and other women composers fell out of favor and argues for their performance today. This study of Daniels’s life and works evinces transition in women’s roles in composition, the professionalization of women composers, and the role that Daniels played in the institutionalization of American art music. Daniels’s dual role as a patron-composer is unique and expressive of her transitional status.