Western Early Keyboard Association

For the Record: Whose Enlightenment?
Female Voices at the Fortepiano with Patricia Garcia Gil

Saturday, April 3, 2027 – 2:00pm

Reed College Performing Arts Building, Room 320 - Directions

Recital followed by Hands-On Time for Newcomers!
YouTube Video Premiere – Saturday, May 1, 2027 - 2pm

Printable Program Pending

For the Record: Whose Enlightenment?

Every archive is an act of selection. Inspired by the Voyager's Golden Record––a sound archive launched into space in 1977––this concert asks who is chosen to represent humanity, and what idea of humanity do those choices preserve.

Seventy five percent of the Western classical “portrait of humanity” on Voyager comes from roughly the Bach–Mozart–Beethoven era, and all six selections are by men. The Golden Record can be understood as the continuation of an Enlightenment ambition: to collect knowledge, organize it, carry it across great distances, and communicate through forms believed to be intelligible beyond the culture that produced them. If the Western Enlightenment belongs in such a record—with its ideals of reason, travel, exchange, classification, and universal communication—whose Enlightenment should be heard?

This concert turns instead to eighteenth-century female voices whose position was deeply contradictory: some achieved unusual independence as performers, composers, and even patrons, while remaining constrained by the expectations attached to their gender. Through theatrical music, we encounter imposed marriage, seduction, obedience, disguise, unequal power, and temporary reversals of hierarchy—archetypes established long before the eighteenth century and still recognizable today.

Heard through women’s compositional voices, these familiar roles become less stable: humour may conceal criticism, theatrical freedom may coexist with social confinement, and inherited characters may acquire new possibilities of expression. Perhaps this tension between freedom and limitation, privilege and exclusion, universal ideals and lived inequality offers a more truthful portrait of humanity—assuming humanity should remain at the centre of the record at all.

About the Performer

Patricia García Gil is Artist in Residence at the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards and Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University, where she integrates performance, interdisciplinary research, and pedagogy in fortepiano and chamber music. She also serves on the faculty of the Cambridge Center for International Research, teaching and mentoring in programs that bridge historical performance with global, cross-disciplinary inquiry.

A versatile and prize-winning musician, Patricia has received top honors in numerous international piano and fortepiano competitions. Her artistic career has led to concert tours across Europe, the United States, and Latin America, where she combines technical brilliance with innovative programming. Through her repertoire choices and research, she strives to illuminate overlooked musicking practices and to reach audiences who rarely connect with classical music, widening access to the cultural and emotional richness of historical performance.

Her recent highlights include being named Early Music Seattle and Early Music America Emerging Artist, appearing as soloist with the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra and Ars Lyrica, performing at the Berkeley and Bloomington Early Music Festivals, and releasing a critically acclaimed album featuring the complete piano works of Pauline Viardot. Patricia also contributes actively to the professional community. She serves as Vice President of the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and on the Board of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies, where she chairs the DEI Committee and helps shape programming and initiatives focused on equity and access. She co-hosts the International Fortepiano Salon, a global monthly online forum dedicated to inclusive dialogue about fortepiano culture, and co-directs HerClassical, an extensive open-access resource amplifying the contributions of women composers.

At the intersection of performance, research, and advocacy, Patricia continues to build a career devoted not only to artistic excellence but also to expanding the voices, practices, and communities represented in classical music.

Hear Patricia's performance of Hélène de Montgeroult on YouTube

Hands-on Time for Newcomers – Stay after the recital to try the fortepiano yourself! Piano teachers, piano students, newcomers and enthusiasts are welcome to experience the feel of a Viennese-style fortepiano under the fingers. Knowing more about the instrument gives valuable insights about the Classical style.

Admission
Free to WEKA members
Free to 18 and under, children accompanied by an adult
Free to college students with ID
General Admission $25 payable at the door

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