Quote Originally Posted by Virulent View Post
I would say though that genius is an appellation applied retroactively by society in thanks for services rendered. I think Maria Mozart obviously doesn't fit that category, as everyone knows her primarily as "Mozart's sister". I'm a great fan of Mozart's music, and I had to go look her name up.
Again you are making the mistake of assuming equal opportunity. Was she allowed as much access to the piano as her brother? Was it socially acceptable for her to perform her own works? Were "nice" women allowed to perform in public? Was she taken as seriously and given the same kind of encouragement her brother was? I don't know the answer to any of these questions. You can never safely assume that because two children grew up in the same household, they were given the same opportunity, especially when they were of different genders.