Radio Star
The 1920s finds Dorothy Howell appearing on the first radio programmes, teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music and enjoying life in London.
This week Donald Macleod is joined by the award-winning author Leah Broad to explore the story of the British composer Dorothy Howell, who shot to fame aged 21 after the triumphant premiere of her orchestral work ‘Lamia’ at the Proms. By the mid-1920s she was regarded as one of the leading women composers of the day, performing in prestigious venues across the UK and regularly appearing on radio programmes in the earliest days of broadcasting. But she faced challenges from the 1930s onwards that left her disillusioned, and by the end of her life she wanted to destroy all but a handful of her works. Luckily family intervened, but even so Howell’s music almost disappeared from view - until recently.
The mid-1920s found Dorothy Howell appointed a Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, performing for radio broadcasts, and giving recitals in some of London’s most prestigious venues. Donald Macleod talks to Leah Broad about a period that saw Howell’s music programmed alongside Ethel Smyth’s and Rebecca Clarke’s: these three were seen as the most significant British female composers of the time.
Five Studies for Piano (Mvt 4)
Sophia Rahman, piano
The Tortoiseshell Cat, Pot Pourri, My White Lady
Emily Gray, mezzo soprano
Timothy Salter, piano
The Moorings
Lorraine McAslan, violin
Sophia Rahman, piano
If you will come to Corte
91Èȱ¬ Singers
Will Dawes, conductor
Rebecca Clarke: The Shy One
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
Graham Johnson, piano
Ethel Smyth: The Cliffs of Cornwall
Swedish Wind Ensemble
Cathrine Winnes, conductor
Piano Concerto in D minor
Danny Driver, piano
91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Rebecca Miller, conductor
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Music Played
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Dorothy Howell
Five Studies (No 4)
Performer: Sophia Rahman.- DUTTON : CDLX-7144.
- DUTTON.
- 12.
-
Dorothy Howell
The Tortoiseshell Cat
Performer: Timothy Salter. Singer: Emily Gray. -
Dorothy Howell
Pot-Pourri
Performer: Timothy Salter. Singer: Emily Gray. -
Dorothy Howell
My White Lady
Performer: Timothy Salter. Singer: Emily Gray. -
Dorothy Howell
The Moorings
Performer: Lorraine McAslan. Performer: Sophia Rahman.- Dutton CDLX7144.
- Dutton.
- 14.
-
Dorothy Howell
If you will come to Corte
Choir: 91Èȱ¬ Singers. Conductor: Will Dawes. -
Rebecca Clarke
Shy One
Performer: Graham Johnson. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson.- HYPERION : CDH-55159.
- HYPERION.
- 20.
-
Ethel Smyth
The Cliffs of Cornwall from "The Wreckers"
Music Arranger: Anders Högstedt. Ensemble: Swedish Wind Ensemble. Director: Cathrine Winnes.- NILENTO : NILCD2102.
- NILENTO.
- 5.
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Dorothy Howell
Piano Concerto in D minor
Performer: Danny Driver. Orchestra: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Rebecca Miller.- The Romantic Piano Concerto 70 - Beach, Chaminade & Howell.
- Hyperion.
- 1.
Broadcast
- Wed 9 Oct 2024 16:0091Èȱ¬ Radio 3
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