Dorothy Howell: Orchestral Works

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Composer Dorothy Howell was known as the English Richard Strauss in her day, but she has been almost completely forgotten. Even in an age where music by women is often being revived, conductor Rebecca Miller had to track this music down by visiting Howell's surviving relatives, and four of the five performances included are world premieres (the exception is the symphonic poem Lamia, based on a poem by John Keats). Miller and company can take credit for a fine rediscovery. The comparison to Strauss is most apt in that composer's comic music, and the shorter pieces here are the stronger ones. Hear the rhythmic liveliness of the first of the Three Divertissements of 1940, with a recurring use of castanets (or something that sounds like them) highlighting a deeper rhythm in the music. The opening Humoresque is in the same vein. There is much to admire as well in the three larger pieces; Lamia traces the Keats poem in some detail, and The Rock, sure enough, is an effective Gibraltar travelogue. The BBC Concert Orchestra is ideal in this music, with a lightness that one of the standard symphony orchestras might not have achieved, and Miller is obviously an enthusiastic advocate. Physical album buyers will get a delightful note from her describing the circumstances of the music's rediscovery. This album made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.

© James Manheim /TiVo