Diversifying Your Repertoire: Concerto Edition
A starter guide to programming concertos by British & Irish women
A month ago I published a resource for programming orchestral works by women, with info on recordings, scores, instrumentation, and play times. It’s proved extremely popular, so today’s post is the concerto edition! If you want to diversify your concerto repertoire, this is a starter guide to programming some readily available concertos by historical British and Irish women, including: who they could fit with thematically, playing times, score locations, instrumentation, and recordings. I’m restricting myself here to works that have already been recorded, but if you’re interested in performing unrecorded works then please do get in contact with me!
Doreen Carwithen, Concerto for Piano and Strings. Carwithen’s Concerto has seen a real upsurge in popularity recently, and with good reason. It’s one of the best piano concertos I know, dramatic and gorgeously scored with a powerful solo part. There are glorious melodic lines that could be complemented by Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2. Or, given that William Walton was one of Carwithen’s favourite composers, the Concerto’s intense rhythmic drive might be brought out by his Crown Imperial (which Carwithen incorporated into her score for Elizabeth is Queen), or his Symphony No. 1. This concerto might also work nicely alongside the Symphony for Double String Orchestra by Carwithen’s contemporary Elizabeth Maconchy — or with a work by Carwithen’s husband, William Alwyn. Although Carwithen and Alwyn’s sound worlds are, for the most part, quite different, his Sinfonietta for Strings shares some of the energy of Carwithen’s Concerto. The score is available from the William Alwyn Foundation, it’s been recorded by Howard Shelley with the London Symphony Orchestra and by Mark Bebbington with the Innovation Chamber Ensemble, is scored for string orchestra and has a play time of c. 32 mins.
Ethel Smyth, Concerto for Violin, Horn and Orchestra. One of Smyth’s later works, this concerto is a real tour de force. As with most her music, it’s incredibly versatile — it got programmed this year at the Proms with Glinka and Rachmaninov, and has previously been placed with Bach and Rachmaninov, and Wagner and Berlioz. The more traditional elements could be brought out by a pairing with Brahms (the Academic Festival Overture might be fun) or Tchaikovsky (Serenade for Strings perhaps?). Going a bit curveball though, the humour of the third movement might be complemented by something like Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Nielsen’s Maskarade Overture, or Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. It’s been published by J. Curwen & Sons (with an online perusal score), recorded by (among others) Richard Watkins and Sophie Langdon with the BBC Philharmonic led by Odaline de la Martínez, play time is c. 28 mins, and instrumentation is 2.2.2.2/2.1.0.0/timp/perc/hp/str.
Ina Boyle, Violin Concerto. Both serene and haunting, Boyle’s Violin Concerto deserves to be one of the standards of the twentieth century repertoire. If you want an alternative to The Lark Ascending, this is the concerto for you. It would sit beautifully with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, anything by Vaughan Williams, or Sibelius’s Symphony No. 4. (I’d also be curious to hear her programmed with some Erkki Melartin, but he’s hardly canonic… If you’re in the general market for exceptional Violin Concertos though, do check out his too.) The score is available via Contemporary Music Ireland, there’s a recording by Catherine Leonard and the Ulster Orchestra, play time is c. 17 mins and instrumentation is 2.2.2.2/2.1.3.0/timp/str. If you want something for cello instead, I also recommend checking out Boyle’s Elegy (2.2.2.2/2.1.0.0/timp/str, recording here, play time c. 7 mins, and you can request the score here).
Elizabeth Maconchy, Serenata Concertante for Violin and Orchestra. There’s so much incredible music by Maconchy that hasn’t been recorded, but focusing on what has, this Serenata Concertante is a corker. To put Maconchy in her historical context, this would work well with a piece by her close friend Grace Williams, contemporary Britten, or compositional inspirations Bartók and Stravinsky. To go in a somewhat different direction though, it could be paired with something like Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Symphony. Play time is c. 22 mins, it’s been recorded by Manoug Parikian and the London Symphony Orchestra, the score is available from Chester and instrumentation is 2(pic).2(ca).2(bcl).2/4.3.3.1/timp/perc/hp/str.
Grace Williams, Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra. This is one of those works where it’s really unbelievable that it’s not better known. It has EVERYTHING. And the slow movement is just heartbreaking. This would work well with Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau, or to bring out the more film-score moments, perhaps Alwyn’s The Black Tent suite or Carwithen’s Mantrap suite. Play time is c. 24 mins, there’s a recording by Huw Watkins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, it’s published by Oriana, and instrumentation is 2+picc.2.2.2/4.2.3.0/timp/perc/str.
Ruth Gipps, Horn Concerto. It wouldn’t be a proper concerto list without Ruth Gipps! She’s truly having her moment in the sun, with a veritable cornucopia of excellent recordings having come out recently. Her Oboe Concerto has been recorded, as well as her Piano Concerto, Clarinet Concerto and Horn Concerto — which still leaves her Violin and Violin & Viola Concertos, and Rhapsody without Words for soprano and orchestra in need of recordings! I’ve chosen the Horn Concerto here purely because there are comparatively few stellar horn concertos compared to the multitude of piano/string concertos. Ben Goldscheider’s recording pairs it with Malcolm Arnold and Schoenberg; David Pyatt puts it with Gordon Jacob, Malcolm Arnold, York Bowen, and Gilbert Vinter. It could also sit well with some Mozart seeing as he also wrote so beautifully for the horn, or the cinematic aspects of Gipps’s might could be well complemented with a work by her contemporary, Doreen Carwithen. Play time is c. 18 mins, and the score and parts are available via Gipps’s copyright holder. Instrumentation is 2.1+cor.2.2/4.2.0.0/timp/perc/str.
Dorothy Howell, Piano Concerto. Howell’s one-movement Piano Concerto was premiered at the Proms in 1923 with Howell herself at the piano — in an enormous programme including Wagner, Mozart, Liszt, Grainger, Verdi, Strauss, Saint-Saëns, Montague Phillips, Katie Moss, and Chabrier. I’d still pair it today with Liszt (Orpheus), and Strauss (Don Juan — after all, Howell was dubbed the “English Strauss”), but I’d also throw in Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances Op. 45, as Howell was a big Rach fan and it shows in this concerto! Or, for something completely different, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve suite. Because why not. If you want to focus on UK connections though, a great partnering might be with a work by John Blackwood McEwen (Three Border Ballads perhaps?), as he was Howell’s composition tutor and a close friend. Play time is c. 24 mins, it’s been recorded by Danny Driver and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rebecca Miller, and by Valentina Seferinova with the Orion Symphony Orchestra. Manuscript score and parts are available from Howell’s copyright holder, and instrumentation is 2+picc.2+cor.2.2/4.3.3.1/timp/str.
Minna Keal, Cello Concerto. If you want something to knock your socks off, try this concerto. Keal’s music is fierce and unforgettable. This could go in any number of directions. I’d love to hear it with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4, Sibelius’s Tapiola, Anna Clyne’s Night Ferry — or even Alwyn’s Symphony No. 3, as he was her tutor at the Royal Academy. Play time is c. 27 mins, it’s been recorded by Alexander Baillie and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the score is available from Corda. Instrumentation is 2.2.2.2/4.2.2.1/perc/pno/hp/str.
Alice Mary Smith, Andante for Clarinet and Orchestra. This is such a delightful piece! It would be perfect with Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and indeed most of the warhorses of the Classical and early Romantic repertoire. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re putting together a concert in which any of these aforementioned composers would be a good fit, there’s a good likelihood that there’s a piece by Alice Mary Smith that might work instead. With a play time of c. 7 mins, the Andante has been recorded by Angela Malsbury and the London Mozart Players, the score is available from A-R Editions, and the instrumentation is 2.2.2.2/2.2.0.0/timp/str.
This is the second in a series on diversifying programming - if you’re looking for orchestral works by British and Irish women, I have a resource for that here. If you’re trying to locate a score by a British woman that hasn’t been recorded or published, please do contact me. I’m always happy to work with ensembles on programming! If you have suggestions for pairings between canonic repertoire and favourite works by women, let me know in the comments.