There are plenty of women contestants at the 2016 Carl Nielsen Violin Competition. Actually they make up two-thirds of the field. This comes as no surprise to Tim Frederiksen, professor and associate dean at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

“Women have dominated violin playing for many years. Symphony orchestra violin sections are mostly made up of women, and at violin competitions we also see more women than men.”

He thinks that it is when they reach adolescence that the girls outpace the boys.

“To become a really good violinist you need to be persistent and focused. When girls reach adolescence they find it easier to maintain their concentration and keep practicing. We see that it is at this time the boys stop playing. There is so much else they want to do instead.”

Paradoxically, the few boys who do keep playing through adolescence often do very well indeed, Professor Frederiksen points out.

“Once they’ve progressed beyond adolescence they do very well, particularly at completions, where they tend to get a long way. I think this is because they often possess more bravado and greater self-confidence than the girls.”

Redressing the balance?

Danish music teachers and their institutions are already aware of the unequal gender distribution among violinists, Professor Frederiksen says.

“Some music schools are focusing on ensuring that violin teaching for boys needs to be more varied, with more breaks during lessons. That’s the right approach”, he says. He adds that we are gradually seeing the results of such efforts: in the last few years more young male violinists have been admitted to Danish conservatories.