Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
Donald Macleod explores the world of Ethel Smyth through five love affairs
British composer Dame Ethel Smyth was one of the early 20th century’s most original cultural voices. A prodigious musical talent who was best known for her operas, she was a force of nature, an unapologetic eccentric who didn’t suffer fools gladly, and a rule-breaking, trail-blazing feminist. Alongside music, she was an accomplished sportswoman, and her driven and playful nature - as well as her endurance - would not only shape her career but her personal life too. This week, Donald Macleod explores Smyth’s story through what she termed her “passions” – the key all-consuming relationships that changed the course of her life, and how they were a necessary force for her creativity.
Music Featured:
Fête Galante (Overture/Sarabande)
Aus der Jugendzeit!
Kom, süsser Tod
Lieder, Op 4 No 2, Schlummerlied
Violin Sonata (3rd mvt, Romanze)
Variations on an Original Theme (of an Exceedingly Dismal Nature)
String Quintet, Op 1 (3rd-5th mvts)
Piano Suite in E major 2nd mvt, Bourree)
Piano Trio (3rd mvt, Scherzo)
4 Songs (No 2, The Dance)
Serenade in D major (3rd & 4th mvts)
Der Wald (excerpt)
The Wreckers Overture
Lieder, Op 4 No 4 “Nachtreiter”
Klavierstück in E major
Cello Sonata in C minor (1st & 2nd mvts)
The Wreckers, Act II (Prelude “On the Cliffs of Cornwall” (arr. for winds) )
Mass in D (Gloria)
Fête Galante (excerpt)
Violin Sonata (2nd mvt)
March of the Women
The Boatswain’s Mate (excerpts)
Possession (Three Songs, No 2)
String Quartet in E minor (3rd & 4th mvts)
Soul’s Joy, Now I am Gone
Two Interlinked French Melodies from Entente Cordiale
Odelette (Four Songs, No 1)
Mass (Sanctus / Benedictus)
The Prison (Nos 14-16)
Double Concerto for Horn and Violin (2nd mvt, Elegy)
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales & West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00219n7
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
View all episodes
By BBC Radio 3
2
228228 ratings
Donald Macleod explores the world of Ethel Smyth through five love affairs
British composer Dame Ethel Smyth was one of the early 20th century’s most original cultural voices. A prodigious musical talent who was best known for her operas, she was a force of nature, an unapologetic eccentric who didn’t suffer fools gladly, and a rule-breaking, trail-blazing feminist. Alongside music, she was an accomplished sportswoman, and her driven and playful nature - as well as her endurance - would not only shape her career but her personal life too. This week, Donald Macleod explores Smyth’s story through what she termed her “passions” – the key all-consuming relationships that changed the course of her life, and how they were a necessary force for her creativity.
Music Featured:
Fête Galante (Overture/Sarabande)
Aus der Jugendzeit!
Kom, süsser Tod
Lieder, Op 4 No 2, Schlummerlied
Violin Sonata (3rd mvt, Romanze)
Variations on an Original Theme (of an Exceedingly Dismal Nature)
String Quintet, Op 1 (3rd-5th mvts)
Piano Suite in E major 2nd mvt, Bourree)
Piano Trio (3rd mvt, Scherzo)
4 Songs (No 2, The Dance)
Serenade in D major (3rd & 4th mvts)
Der Wald (excerpt)
The Wreckers Overture
Lieder, Op 4 No 4 “Nachtreiter”
Klavierstück in E major
Cello Sonata in C minor (1st & 2nd mvts)
The Wreckers, Act II (Prelude “On the Cliffs of Cornwall” (arr. for winds) )
Mass in D (Gloria)
Fête Galante (excerpt)
Violin Sonata (2nd mvt)
March of the Women
The Boatswain’s Mate (excerpts)
Possession (Three Songs, No 2)
String Quartet in E minor (3rd & 4th mvts)
Soul’s Joy, Now I am Gone
Two Interlinked French Melodies from Entente Cordiale
Odelette (Four Songs, No 1)
Mass (Sanctus / Benedictus)
The Prison (Nos 14-16)
Double Concerto for Horn and Violin (2nd mvt, Elegy)
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales & West
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00219n7
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
More shows like Composer of the Week
View all
Global News Podcast
7,727 Listeners
The LRB Podcast
299 Listeners
From Our Own Correspondent
379 Listeners
More or Less
893 Listeners
Newshour
1,068 Listeners
In Our Time
5,478 Listeners
The Documentary Podcast
1,816 Listeners
In Our Time: History
1,883 Listeners
6 Minute English
1,781 Listeners
Learning English Conversations
1,041 Listeners
Great Lives
476 Listeners
Last Word
46 Listeners
F1: Chequered Flag
721 Listeners
Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast
346 Listeners
The Life Scientific
232 Listeners
Start the Week
161 Listeners
Record Review Podcast
46 Listeners
Private Passions
44 Listeners
The Briefing Room
74 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,226 Listeners
Americast
741 Listeners
Cyber Hack
1,605 Listeners
This Cultural Life
101 Listeners
Past Present Future
342 Listeners