The 'Female Canon'

[Gareth Vaughan]

And perhaps we are expected to believe that Fanny was "The Greatest Mendelssohn", likewise. (Irrespective of the fact that, grammatically, it should be "greater" in both cases.)
But this is the BBC, so one shouldn't be surprised.

[Alan Howe]

Well, I suppose we could include Arnold Mendelssohn and Georg and Camillo Schumann - then 'greatest' would be correct.

But I fear this thread is going nowhere fast...

[Christopher]

I've heard Jeanne Beyerman in the Netherlands, Lili Boulanger in France and Lucija Garuta in Lithuania, but much not outside their own countries of origin.

Lucija Garuta in Latvia surely...?

[Double-A]

I do believe that even the assignment of A vs. B tier among male composers is a fools errand.  IMO for example Strauss and Händel would be B, not even B plus.  On the other hand Schumann and Berlioz would definitely be A.  I am not even entirely clear what the criteria would be at any rate:  Overall quality of the oeuvre?  Work(wo)manship?  Originality?  Or negatively:  Number of less than satisfactory works? 

Leaving that problem aside I do think that the opinion that no woman is A ranking is self re-enforcing.  If you believe that firmly no woman will ever qualify in your ears.

[der79sebas]

In fact, there is at least on A-tier female composer: Lera Auerbach. But since she is the best of all living (male & female) composers, she is well beyond the scope of this forum...

[Alan Howe]

Sorry: this is degenerating into an exchange of opinions about categories which is going nowhere. I think we'll call a halt here.