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From a young age, Ethel Smyth was taught piano and music theory - very much valued as the 'ladylike accomplishments' of the day but a turning point came when she was about twelve years old. She heard a new governess, who had studied in Leipzig, playing Beethoven and she decided then and there that she wanted to become a composer. Her love for music developed into a passion but her family did not approve of the intensity of her interest and her father fought against her ambition. |