Geraldine Mucha. A probe into the life and work of a female composer

This bachelor thesis is concerned with the life and work of a Scottish-Czech composer Geraldine Mucha (1917-2012). Based on existing sources, its aim is to critically analyse her approach towards composition and its development in the course of her life. An emphasis is placed on the analysis of various social and cultural factors which shaped both her compositional activities and the way in which she addressed them. I therefore present Mucha as a woman of specific era and culture who had to find a way to combine her musical interests with other roles she wished to, or was obliged to, fulfil. Moreover, I discuss why the chosen way had to include dissociating herself from any form of promotion of her work and composing inconspicuously in the privacy of her home. The thesis is methodologically anchored in literature discussing the specifics of writing a female biography in musicology. Using a specific example of a female composer not previously reflected in musicological literature I wish to contribute to the exploration of this topic. Key words: Geraldine Mucha, female composer, female biography, gender, Czechoslovakia, Britai