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Donald Macleod explores the world of Ethel Smyth through five love affairs that shaped her life and music. Today, we meet her first great love, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg.

Donald Macleod explores a musician also remarkable for her sporting prowess. Today, looking at Ethel Smyth’s relationship with her first great love, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg.

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, trailblazing 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. All 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.

Today, we meet the first of Ethel’s major loves - Elisabeth von Herzogenberg. “Lisl” was the wife of Ethel’s composition teacher in Leipzig, and the intensity of her infatuation led her to a dramatic collapse. Lisl nursed her back to health and they developed a maternal intimacy – Ethel becoming a “semi-detached member” of the Herzogenberg household. But little did Ethel know her loyalty to Lisl would eventually be tested


FĂȘte Galante: Overture/Sarabande
Ensemble Lontano
Odaline de la Martinez, conductor

Aus der Jugendzeit!
Liana Serbescu, piano

Kom, sĂŒsser Tod
Sansara
Tom Herring, conductor

Lieder, Op 4 No 2: Schlummerlied
Maarten Koningsberger, baritone
Kelvin Grout, piano

Violin Sonata (3rd movement – Romanze)
Tasmin Little, violin
John Lenehan, piano

Variations on an Original Theme (of an Exceedingly Dismal Nature)
Marie Catherine Girod, piano

String Quintet, Op 1(3rd-5th movements)
Mannheim Quartet
Joachim Griesheimer, cello

Produced by Amelia Parker for ±«Óătv Audio Wales and West

59 minutes

Last on

Mon 29 Jul 2024 16:00
±«Óătv Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Ethel Smyth

    Fete Galante Overture

    Ensemble: Lontano. Conductor: Odaline de la Martinez.
    • FĂȘte Galante.
    • Retrospect Opera.
    • 1.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Aus der Jugendzeit!!

    Performer: Liana Șerbescu.
    • C.P.O. : 999-327-2.
    • C.P.O..
    • 3.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Kom, sĂŒsser Tod

    Choir: Sansara.
    • PLATOON : PLAT16731.
    • PLATOON.
    • 4.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Lieder Op 4, No 2, Schlummerlied

    Performer: Kelvin Grout. Singer: Maarten Konigsberger.
    • TROUBADISC : tro-cd-01417.
    • TROUBADISC.
    • 1.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Violin Sonata (3rd mvt, Romanze)

    Performer: Tasmin Little. Performer: John Lenehan.
    • Tasmin Little plays Clara Schumann, Ethel Smyth & Amy Beach.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 10.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Variations on an Original Theme (of an Exceedingly Dismal Nature)

    Performer: Marie-Catherine Girod.
    • MIRARE : MIR-574.
    • MIRARE.
    • 9.

  • Ethel Smyth

    String Quintet, Op 1 (3rd-5th mvts)

    Performer: Joachim Griesheimer. Ensemble: Mannheimer Streichquaretett.
    • CPO: 999 352-2.
    • CPO.
    • 7.

Broadcast

  • Mon 29 Jul 2024 16:00
    ±«Óătv Radio 3

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