Antonia Brico (1902-1989) once tersely stated that she thought of herself merely as 'a conductor who happens to be a woman', a fact that caused controversy and discussion throughout her life. Could a woman truly fulfill her dream of leading an orchestra? In 1926, the Rotterdam-born musician, raised in California, became the sole female student among Karl Muck's class in Berlin. She made her debut in 1930 with the Berlin Philharmonic and went on to success conducting major American and European orchestras. Yet despite her accomplishments, Brico faced ridicule and opposition from men in the music industry, never becoming the chief conductor of an established orchestra. Today, it is a truism that music is not about gender, but we are still far from true equality. In 2018, Dutch screenwriter and director Maria Peters created a gripping biopic of Brico's career, with Christianne de Brujin in the leading role. Peters also provided additional background in a novel following the film's completion.