Ethel Smyth Serenade in D

I’ve mentioned Ethel Smyth a few times in the past on this show.
This is partly because of her music, and partly because she
remains one of the most interesting people who ever lived. She
was a composer of course, but she was also a conductor and an
author, as well as a political activist. Specifically, she was a
suffragette, fiercely advocating for the rights of women to vote
in her home country of the UK. As a composer Smyth wrote dozens
of works, all of which are starting to become better known as
performers and administrators look to bring more music by female
composers onto concert stages around the world. Smyth did not
have it easy, constantly fighting for her place, battling
conductors, other composers, and even her own father, all for the
right to be a composer.  Today, after I introduce you to a
bit more of Smyth’s amazing biography, we’re going to focus on
her first orchestral work, her Serenade in D Major. This is a
piece that certainly doesn’t sound like a first orchestral piece,
and it is full of all of the qualities that make Smyth’s music so
enjoyable to listen to - lush warmth, humor, raucous intensity,
and the quiet passion that runs through the music of so many
great British composers. Smyth’s Serenade in D is starting to be
performed more, and I’m really proud to be using my own recording
of the piece for the show today, which I made with the Lausanne
Chamber Orchestra in 2021. It is only the second professional
recording of the piece, and the recording has just been released
on Claves Records. So today, we’re going to go through this
wonderful piece and also spend some more time in the wild and
unpredictable world of Dame Ethel Smyth. Join us!