On Saturday March 4 - the whole programme starts at 9am, the Building a Library strand at 9.30. The BBC spiel says:
'Building a Library survey on the music of Dame Ethel Smyth. As part of Radio 3's celebration of International Women's Day, Kate Kennedy explores the music of an underrated English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Smyth showed tenacity and courage in pursuing her career as a composer at a time when this was an unusual path for women. Sir Thomas Beecham visited her when she was in prison for her political activities, and discovered her leaning out of a window conducting with a toothbrush as her fellow inmates marched around the prison yard.'
The music includes extracts from:
Mass in D for soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ
The Boatswain's Mate: Overture
Serenade in D
Concerto for violin, horn and orchestra
Complete piano works
String Quartet in E minor
String Quintet in E major, Op. 1
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 7
The Wreckers Overture
The Boatswain's Mate (from the complete recording)
Double Concerto in A for violin, horn & piano
Four Songs for mezzo & chamber ensemble
Three Songs for mezzo & piano
Lieder, Op. 4
Lieder und Balladen, Op. 3
Cello Sonata in C minor
Moods of the Sea (3)
Entente cordiale – Interlude
Fête galante – Minuet
Two Interlinked French Melodies
Should be an interesting survey.
We are very lucky that the majority of Ethel Smyth's important compositions are available on disk. There is one glaring omission: "The Prison". Dare one hope that one day this will be revived?
Received its US premiere in 2016? Not aware of a recording but...
Really? I didn't know that, Eric. Do you know who the performers were and where it was done? Most interesting.
Stop being lazy, Gareth. A moment's internet research revealed the following: http://www.classical-scene.com/2016/05/21/ethel-smyth-prison/ (http://www.classical-scene.com/2016/05/21/ethel-smyth-prison/)
Thanks for the link to that enthusiastic review, Gareth. Your self-reprimand worked a treat! :)
I heard excerpts of The Prison last summer, and I can tell you that it could possibly be Smyth's greatest work.
Strange as it may appear, the Italian pay Tv channel "Sky Classica" has recently dedicated a short documentary to Dame Ethel Smyth".
The complete recording of the Boatswain's Mate (conducted by Odaline de la Martinez) was made the top selection in yesterday's Building a Library.
Rochester (NY) Philharmonic will feature Dame Ethyl's Concerto for horn and violin on its June 3, 2018 concert.
Best, David
The Prison was performed in Berlin a few years ago, and I was fortunate enough to be there. I also received a copy of the [private] recording made at that occasion. It is indeed a great work, although the sounding of the Last Post at the end does indeed weaken the effect of the whole.
Gosh, that review makes me hungrier than ever to hear this work.