At our concert coming up on March 29th we will be performing two beloved orchestral masterpieces: Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2, and Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. We know that many in our audience are familiar with these works and their composers. But what about the lesser-known works on the program?
Avril Coleridge-Taylor – Sussex Landscape, Op. 27 (1940)
English composer Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903–1998) was a significant composer, conductor, and pianist in the early 20th century in Britain.
- She was the daughter of the well-known composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who was of Sierra Leone and British ancestry.
- She studied at Trinity College of Music and was a frequent guest conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra in the 1930s.
- She wrote many large-scale orchestral works, which have largely disappeared from the concert hall partly because of systemic racism and sexism.
- Her works are now being rediscoverd, and we are excited to be giving the west-coast premier of Sussex Landscape
In 1939, Coleridge-Taylor moved to Buxted, East Sussex, where the local scenery inspired several of her compositions, including the tone poem Sussex Landscape. This three-part orchestral work reflects the serene beauty of the South Downs. Composed immediately after the outbreak of World War II, the piece conveys a bleaker and more desolate atmosphere than typically associated with the idyllic countryside, offering a unique wartime perspective.
For more, read:
https://leahbroad.substack.com/p/women-war-and-writing
The Women's Philharmonic Advocacy has awarded BARS a grant to perform and videorecord Sussex Landscape.
Kurt Atterberg – Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola, and Strings, Op. 19 (1917)
Swedish composer and engineer Kurt Atterberg (1887–1974) was a prolific symphonist and arguably the greatest of the early 20th century Swedish romantic composers. He was deeply influenced by Scandinavian folk music and the late-Romantic traditions of composers like Sibelius and Nielsen. Atterberg balanced his musical career with a profession as an engineer and a patent examiner, yet his compositions gained international recognition.
His Suite No. 3 for Violin, Viola, and Strings is a lush, expressive work that showcases his gift for melody and rich harmonic textures. Written in 1917, it features beautiful interplay between the violin and viola soloists, set against the backdrop of a warmly lyrical string orchestra.