Unrecorded piano concertos by English women

[giles.enders]

All of the following English women have written piano concertos or substantial pieces for piano and orchestra, none of which have been recorded.

Caroline Orger (Reinagle) 1818-1892  Piano concerto
Alice Mary Smith 1839-1884  Introduction and Allegro
Oliviera Prescott 1842-1919  Piano Concerto
Agnes Tyrrell 1846-1883  Piano concerto
Rosalind Ellicott 1857-1924  Piano concerto
Mary Wurm 1860-1938  Piano concerto
Dora Estella Bright 1863-1931  2 Piano concertos
Adelina de Lara 1872-1961  2 Piano concertos
Cecily Foster 18xx-19xx  Concertino
Bluebell Klean 1876-1950  Piano concerto
Kathleen Bruckshaw 1877-1921  Piano concerto
Ethel Scarborough 1880-1950  3 Piano concertos
Irene Poldowski 1880-1932  Poem for Piano and Orchestra
Ethel Leginska 1884-1920  Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra
Dorothy Erhart 1894-1971 Piano concerto
Freda Swain 1902-1985  Piano concerto
Phyllis Dale 1914-   Concertino
Pamela Harrison 1915-1990  Piano concerto

[erato]

I think this is a contender for "the most obscure unrecorded thread ever". Keep them coming!

[Alan Howe]

Are any of them any good?

[Gareth Vaughan]

More to the point, where are the scores? No-one can make an assessment of this music without first having seen it? Of all those listed I have seen only the MS score of the A minor PC by Dora Bright at the RAM. It is jolly good and well worth reviving IMHO. No-one seems able to find the D minor concerto.

I am willing to bet money that not a single page can be found of the full scores of any of the others - let alone orchestral parts.

[Alan Howe]

Quite, Gareth.

[eschiss1]

A lot of work has gone into finding, editing and reviving Alice Mary Smith's orchestral music- have her piano concertos so definitely disappeared?... hrm

[eschiss1]

Hrm. Graham-Jones' introduction to his edition of Mary Smith's symphonies  as previewed at Google does mention an introduction and allegro in C minor for piano and orchestra (ca.1865?) and several piano quartets (of works with "piano" in them, ignoring piano as in piano e forte)...- but not, I think, any "concertos" so titled... doesn't mean there aren't any. (He does not say whether the manuscript of the introduction and allegro exists or whether its existence has just been deduced by other means. Correction- the full score of the I&A is in the RAM catalogue, yes, I see it. Never mind!! Anyhow, not a full-scale concerto, but would like to hear it, personally.)
Of Oliviera Prescott Graham-Jones says in a footnote that the manuscripts of her largescale works including the concerto do not seem to have survived.

[eschiss1]

Also-
Dorothy Erhart, not Ehrhardt, so far as Musicsack knows, and will edit this comment if I need to- some people -won't- turn up in most searches if their names are misspelled... (I'm not even sure about this one but am fairly sure it's not Ehrhardt...) (Dorothy Erhart: piano quintet in D, Chester, 1917 - not the concerto sought, but more than shows up under Ehrhardt that I can tell )
Marie/Mary J.A. Wurm- piano concerto in B minor performed by composer and reported in the Monthly Musical Record August 1 1890; well, will see if I can turn up anything there . (I wonder if she was related to Wilhelm/Vasilii Wurm.) Yes. Library of Congress has this, her opus 21, in full autograph score.

[Gareth Vaughan]

It may be that the C minor Introduction & Allegro for piano and orchestra is extant, but I confess I can't raise much enthusiasm for the lady on what I have so far heard of her music. "Modestly pleasant - relatively uninspired", would be my judgement.

[eschiss1]

actually, looking at Giles' list, there is no concerto listed for Smith- just an Introduction and Allegro, presumably that one... and while his list is edited, it was edited hours ago.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Quite right, but one doesn't always go back to read the original post when replying to later ones. However, my mistake, and thanks for pointing that out. I have modified my previous comment accordingly. So we know that Miss Smith's piece exists in MS at the RAM. I expect someone will record it if the MS is in reasonable condition, and if the disk of her symphonies has sold well.

[Lionel Harrsion]

There's also a Piano Concerto in F minor by Avril Coleridge-Taylor of which (I think) there's a recording somewhere in the National Sound Archive.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I suppose her MSS could be in South Africa where she spent the latter half of her life or Trinity College Dublin, where she studied under Gordon Jacob and Alec Rowley.

[Alan Howe]

Alice Mary Smith's symphonies are very small beer, though. I can think of many composers from that period who should be given priority - almost all men, admittedly. For goodness sake, we haven't even had Julius Otto Grimm's influential symphony recorded yet...

[albion]

Alice Mary Smith's symphonies are very small beer, though. I can think of many composers from that period who should be given priority - almost all men, admittedly. For goodness sake, we haven't even had Julius Otto Grimm's influential symphony recorded yet...

Who did it influence, and how?