Dorothy Howell (1898-1982): 7-11/9/24

[Serial_Apologist]

"Composer of the Week is perhaps the most venerated part of the entire Radio 3 output - a fixture on the network for more than 80 years. But it remains unfailingly stimulating and informative ..." etc. etc. Radio Times P.114.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023f73

Radio Times describes her as a sort of British Richard Strauss, but for all the textural lushness, from listening (for the first time) today to the tone poem Larnia, bursting with whole tone harmonic passages and at one point almost quoting from the middle movement of la mer, I detect more a local counterpart to French composers of the post-Frank school like Chausson and D'Indy, or even the Zemlinsky of The Mermaid period - delayed by 15 or so years. One thing she was not was of the English Pastoralist caste.

[smittims]

I'd say 'venerable' rather than 'venerated' ! I've long felt COTW should be retired in favour of something that gives more attention to the music. However, I did enjoy the series on Coleridge-Taylor, who came over as a more interesting figurer than I had previously thought.

I do feel though that they're doing more 'box-ticking' these days. Dorothy Howell's music is pleasant and well-constructed but it's no better, and in some cases less good than the music of lots of neglected and forgotten male composers who Radio 3 continues to ignore. I know this is but part of a general BBC emphasis of feminism but I feel it lacks fairness and balanced assessment.

[mopsus]

She wrote a lot of church music later in her life but most has never been published. It would be interesting to see if any of it could be given a wider circulation (e.g. by Multitude of Voyces) and gain a place in the repertoire.