{"id":3219,"date":"2021-11-10T15:58:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/?p=3219"},"modified":"2021-12-02T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T16:05:49","slug":"ethel-smyths-sonata-for-violin-and-piano-dedicated-to-a-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/2021\/11\/10\/ethel-smyths-sonata-for-violin-and-piano-dedicated-to-a-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethel Smyth\u2019s Sonata for violin and piano, dedicated to a friend"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Loeb Music Library recently acquired a first edition of Ethel Smyth\u2019s Sonata for violin and piano in A minor, Op. 7,<\/a> composed in 1887. Born in 1858, Smyth is remembered as an independent and strong-willed woman who studied music against her father\u2019s wishes. She was a leading suffragette, and in later life actively authored polemical writings. For a brief introduction to Ethel, see Five facts about Dame Ethel Smyth<\/a> on the Oxford University Press blog, and for much more, including a discography and list of her manuscripts, check out the work of Drs. Liane Curtis and Amy Zigler, and Chris Trotman at\u00a0ethelsmyth.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Sonata<\/a>

Sonate (A moll) f\u00fcr Violine und Clavier von E.M. Smyth, Merritt Room Mus 810.6.383, Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard University. The stamp on this copy is from the Glasgow Athenaeum, which closed in 1929.<\/p><\/div>\n

This first edition was published by J. Reiter-Beidermann, a reputable Swiss music publisher. Founded in 1848, the company was later purchased by C.F Peters in 1917. A subsequent edition of Smyth\u2019s Sonata Op. 7 was printed by Universal Edition in 1923<\/a>, also held in the Loeb Music Library collection. The manuscript of the work is held at the British Library, Add. MS 45950<\/a>, as well as an additional manuscript, MS Mus. 1781<\/a>, with an inscription date of 27\/5\/[18]87 referring to the date this exact manuscript was delivered for printing.<\/p>\n

In the same year as publication, 1887, the Sonata premiered at the Leipzig Gewandhaus<\/a>. Performers included Fanny Davies (piano) and Adolph Bordsky (violin).<\/p>\n

\"Postcard<\/a>

Leipzig, Germany: Konzerthaus (the second “Gewandhaus”, opened 1884, destroyed 1943\/1944). Public domain image from wikicommons.<\/p><\/div>\n

The performance was praised by The Monthly Musical Record<\/i> in December 1887, which states, \u201cThe work was played by Fraulein Fanny Davies, from London, and Herrn Brodsky, to such a way that the composer had every reason to be thankful.\u201d The same review casts an unfavorable posture on Ethel as a female composer, stating \u201cThe sonata for violin and piano by E.M. Smyth…proved to be the clever work of a lady who makes no pretensions to originality, but slavishly follows Brahms, and who possesses but little taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smyth remembers this common characterization in her memoirs, Impressions that Remained<\/i>, by acknowledging \u201cthe critics unanimously said it was devoid of feminine charm and therefore unworthy of a woman – the good old remark I was so often to hear again.\u201d A listen to the piece will prove just how wrong the reviewers were!<\/p>\n

\"Clipping<\/a>

Clipping from The Monthly Musical Record, January 1, 1887.<\/p><\/div>\n

Both the 1887 and 1923 published editions include the dedication \u201cFrau Lili Wach geb. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in alter Freundschaft gewidmet\u201d \u201cMrs Lily Wach, n\u00e9e Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, dedicated in old friendship\u201d Elisabeth Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Wach (Lili), was the daughter of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and C\u00e9cile Charlotte Sophie Jeanrenaud. Ethel and Lili first met in 1877 at a musical gathering at the house of Frau Livia Frege, a soprano living in Leipzig. Their friendship can be observed through their letters. For example, Lili concludes a June 21st, 1891 letter to Ethel with \u201cSo farewell, my dearest, and remember now and again that no one is fonder of thee than – Thy Old Lili.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

Smyth, Ethel. Impressions That Remained: Memoirs.<\/i> 3rd ed. New York: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1923, p. 170, 290.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic in Leipzig (From Our Special Correspondent. Leipzig, December 1887)\u201d The Monthly Musical Record<\/i> XVIII, no. 205 (January 1, 1888): 9\u201310.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Loeb Music Library recently acquired a first edition of Ethel Smyth\u2019s Sonata for violin and piano in A minor, Op. 7, composed in 1887. Born in 1858, Smyth is remembered as an independent and strong-willed woman who studied music against her father\u2019s wishes. She was a leading suffragette, and in later life actively authored […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9617,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15748,14838],"tags":[15728,14789,19719],"class_list":["post-3219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-isham-memorial-library","category-new-acquisitions","tag-chamber-music","tag-scores","tag-women-composers","post-preview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6lSEF-PV","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9617"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3219"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3235,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3219\/revisions\/3235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/loebmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}