Dorothy Howell (1898-1982)

Donald Macleod and Leah Broad survey the life and work of British
composer Dorothy Howell


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.


Music Featured:


Spindrift Humoresque for Orchestra Sonata for violin and piano
(1st mvt) Two Frogs Five Studies for piano Boat Song for piano
Lamia Five Studies Rosalind The Little Round House, The Bears
Koong Shee Phantasy for violin and piano The Tortoiseshell Cat
Pot Pourri My White Lady The Moorings If you will come to Corte
Piano Concerto in D minor Mazurka Two Pieces for Muted Strings
Puppydog’s Tales Prelude 1 in F minor Prelude 2 in C Prelude 3 in
A flat Recuerdos Preciosos No 1 and 2 The Rock Overture Sonata
for violin and piano (2nd & 3rd mvts) To Sine in Winter
Sonata for piano Three Divertissements


Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Megan Jones 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 Dorothy Howell (1898-1982)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023f35


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