If you happened to hear Fantasie en Sol Mineur by de Montgeroult, you might well assume it was one of the great piano works of Schubert: but de Montgeroult was born thirty years before the romantic master! It is surprising enough to discover that Schubert's work was not as original as you thought: sadly it is all the more surprising to find that de Montgeroult was a woman, Helene.

Given the extraordinary quality of music in this playlist of female composers, I am forced to conclude that only social constraints have meant that not one of them is a household name.