Dramatic seas, unhappy love, and one of music history's most enigmatic symphonies

Guest Performance Musikhögskolan i Malmö Symphony Orchestra

Helsingborgs Konserthus

Our 51st season opens with two audience favorites, the Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms and the Sixth Symphony of Antonin Dvorak. Both are examples of the finest orchestral writing of the late 19th century, helping assure both composers of their place in history. The Variations are not, as advertised, on a theme by Haydn, yet Brahms and his publisher probably knew this. As the theme was believed by the public to be by the venerated composer, the name stuck (and likely helped sell the piece to audiences!). Dvorak’s Symphony no. 6 is an example of a composer at the top of his creative game, blending Czech folk elements with traditional symphonic writing to produce a wholly unique sound. Orchestras and audiences love both works, but they will also be enchanted by our opening piece, an overture to a little-known opera by Dame Ethel Smyth, an English composer not well known in America. Smyth was a fascinating woman, the first female composer to receive a damehood (the equivalent of a male being knighted). She also worked for the suffrage movement, even spending time in prison for her activities. Her Overture to the Wreckers is a wonderful example of late Victorian-era music, with hints of Edward Elgar, Arthur Sullivan and others, woven into a wholly original composition.

EPSG:4326

Two Classics and a Surprise!

University of Utah

Join us for an opening night that sets the tone for an unforgettable season – bold, expressive, and full of life.

Bold Beginnings

Arkley Center for the Performing Arts

The Enigma Variations never cease to fascinate, with their slow and beautiful melodies. It is no wonder that they are considered to be among the best classical works ever in the UK.

VÄGUS: Enigma Variations

Göteborgs Konserthus

The London Schools Symphony Orchestra brings together teenage musicians from across the capital who share a deep commitment to music-making at the highest level. This performance is the final concert of our season, representing the culmination of a full year of intensive music-making, collaboration, and artistic growth with professional conductors and tutors.

London Schools Symphony Orchestra: Voyages and Visions

Fairfield Halls

NUSO - Norsk Ungdomssymfoniorkester performs a program of sea-themed program music, a journey through music history conducted by Berit Cardas.

Voices from the Sea

Stavanger Konserthus

Music has long been a voice for resistance, remembrance and renewal.  In this striking and emotionally charged programme, the Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra explores how composers have responded to injustice, conflict, and the call for change.

Protest Notes

Pei-San Chiu, flute; Tze-Ying Wu, viola; Chan Mi Jean, piano

Ford-Crawford Hall

In a village on the Cornish coast, shipwrecks during storms are considered divine gifts to be plundered. But there seems to be a traitor, warning ships offshore with beacons. Whoever it is must die.

The Wreckers

Detmold Theatre

Get ready to string together some serious musical discoveries at Recital 2 with the Atlantic String Quartet.

This bold, boundary-pushing program kicks off with String Quartet No. 2 by Charlotte Sohy—lush, lyrical, and long-overdue for the spotlight. From there, things take a rhythmic twist with Franghiz Ali-Zadeh’s
Rǝqs (Dance), a spellbinding fusion of Azerbaijani folk vibes and avant-garde flair that’ll have your ears dancing. The night closes with Ethel Smyth’s passionate String Quartet in E minor—stormy, soulful, and brimming with dramatic flair.

Recital 2

Memorial University School of Music

In Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131, the music seems to be searching for freedom – of thought, of the soul. Perhaps that is why it speaks so powerfully to us, with its warmth, imagination and intensity. One of the works from Beethoven’s late period, the quartet spans seven movements and covers an extraordinary emotional range. Franz Schubert heard the piece and is said to have wondered what was left to write after music of such magnitude – a greatness that could not be put into words.

Late Beethoven

Stockholm Concert Hall

Andrew Sords is an internationally acclaimed soloist known for his virtuosity and expressive performances. He has appeared with over 300 orchestras across four continents, with recent highlights including works by Bruch, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. A frequent recitalist and chamber musician, Sords is also a passionate advocate for musical outreach and education.

Masterworks: Romantic Masters

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Very British

Künstlerhaus am Lenbachplatz

Korngold's Hollywood Concerto

Artis–Naples

»Orchestra for Change«

Oper Frankfurt

Our Autumn Opera Double Bill explores love, power and resistance through fresh interpretations of two early 20th-century works centered on formidable female protagonists.

Opera Double Bill: Smyth's 'Der Wald' & Respighi's 'Lucrezia'

Guildhall School of Music and Drama - Milton Court

Phantasies

The Pioneer Valley Symphony opens the season honoring the contribution of women composers to classical music. Ethyl Smyth’s rousing “March of the Women” celebrates resilient, daring, and effective advocacy of women. The beautiful and entrancing piano concerto by Clara Wieck Schumann forms the centerpiece of the concert before exploring the world of counterpoint and chorales with Robert Schumann’s beloved Rhenish symphony prefaced by Palestrina’s Adoramus Te and Stokowski’s sumptuous rendering of it for orchestra.

Season Opening: Counterpoints on the Rhein

Greenfield High School

Concert "London"

Schloss Moritzburg

Nature is the focus of this large orchestral concert with the ensemble reflektor. Its young members pursue a single idea: to have a lasting impact on society as an orchestra and develop contemporary formats that inspire a broad audience. The orchestra, winner of the Ensemble Prize at the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Festival, is therefore coming to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania this year with a question: How are scientists here committed to climate and nature? What do they have to say to us? The answers will be incorporated into the emotional concert as a captivating reading.

The forest

St. Nikolai

We return to our residency at the Three Choirs Festival for the opening weekend of the 2025 festival in Hereford.

Mathias’s glorious This Worlde’s Joie is the highlight of this year’s opening evening concert. Joyful and exuberant, this colourful work, full of uplifting voices and chiming bells, is paired with Dvořák’s Te Deum, an electrifying and ecstatic hymn of praise.

Three Choirs Festival: This Worlde’s Joie

Hereford Cathedral

At our espresso concerts in the early afternoon, we serve two kinds of caffeine - in cups and, of course, musically: outstanding young musicians present surprise programs that really wake you up - in this case on the podium of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and as a viola soloist!

Espresso concert with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin

Konzerthaus Berlin

Dive into an enchanting underwater adventure with Symphony Under the Sea. In celebration of World Ocean Day, this program brings the magic and mystery of the sea to life through music. From the sweeping waves of classical masterpieces by Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns, to the beloved melodies of The Little Mermaid and Moana, this concert captures the wonder of the ocean in a way that’s both exciting and immersive. With pre-concert activities like an instrument petting zoo and resources for family, this sensory-friendly concert designed for music lovers of all ages, will transport you on a symphonic journey beneath the sea.

MyDSO Sensory-Friendly Concert

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

rebelSYMPHnoire

The Lerner Theatre 

rebelSYMPHnoire, May 18 at The Lerner Theatre, features guest performer rebel noire and the accomplices—a local Eclectic Rock/Spoken Word ensemble that creates original songs exploring themes of power, resistance, and the complex textures of human love. The repertoire for this exciting season finale includes Ethel Smyth, Boatswain’s Mate Overture; Choi, Arirang Fantasy; Theofanidis, Rainbow Body; and works by rebel noir and the accomplices.

Elkhart County Symphony – rebelSYMPHnoire

This program, guest conducted by Naima Burrs, brings you three very different but very important masterpieces of classical music written in the last century.

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

Strathmore

Copenhagen Phil is once again ready to jump into the orchestra pit to provide the music for Den Jyske Opera's performances. This time it applies to Poul Schierbeck's only opera Fête galante .

The Jutland Opera

DGI Huset

The Royal Playhouse and The Old Stage

MusikTeatret Albertslund

Odense Concert Hall

Do we even need to talk about it anymore? About the role of women in society, at work and in music? Of course! Equality between men and women may be the law, but it is not yet a reality everywhere. There is hardly a better opportunity to talk about it than on International Women's Day. It has been celebrated since 1911 and has been officially recognised by the UN for 50 years. Reason enough for the Bremen Philharmonic to devote itself to this topic - in word and sound. Konstantia Gourzi, one of the most prominent conductors and composers currently on the podium, will discuss the self-image, importance and visibility of women in music with artistic director Guido Gärtner and conductor Hansjörg Albrecht. Musically, Gourzi will be performing her piece "Moonrise by the Sea", inspired by Caspar David Friedrich, and Albrecht will then perform the beautiful, romantic mass by Ethel Smyth. She was one of the pioneers of her profession – at a time when this was anything but self-evident.

50th Anniversary of International Women's Day

Hall 1 / Tabakquartier

Do we even need to talk about it anymore? About the role of women in society,
at work and in music? Of course! Equality between men and
women may be the law, but it is not yet a reality everywhere. There is hardly a better
opportunity to talk about it than on International Women's Day.
It has been celebrated since 1911 and has been officially recognised by the UN for 50 years. Reason enough for the
Bremen Philharmonic to devote itself to this topic - in words and music.

gala concert for International Women's Day

Laeiszhalle Hamburg

In pursuit of their degrees at SFCM, each student presents a recital that represents their artistry and craft. Student Recitals feature repertoire curated by students with guidance from their faculty instructor. This recital has been curated by Madison Barton, voice.

Women in Opera - Student Recital

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Join us for a captivating evening with the "British Invasion Oklahoma Chamber Symphony" event, set to take place on Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the First Church OKC, located at 131 Northwest 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102, United States. This unique concert promises to be an unforgettable journey through the musical landscapes of Britain, featuring the works of two rarely heard British composers, Ethel Smyth and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, alongside the iconic sounds of The Beatles and the classical compositions of Franz Joseph Haydn.

**What’s Special About This Concert:**
- **Ethel Smyth:** Celebrated for her contribution to the women’s suffrage movement with the anthem "March of the Women," we will be presenting her "The Boatswain’s Mate Overture" from 1914, a piece that lasts approximately 7 minutes.
- **Samuel Coleridge-Taylor:** Known as the "African Mahler," his "Ballade in A minor, op. 33" from 1898 will be performed, a composition that spans around 13 minutes.
- **Franz Joseph Haydn:** The concert will also feature Haydn’s "Symphony No. 104 in D major, Hob I:104 London" from 1795, famously known as the London Symphony, lasting about 29 minutes.
- **The Beatles:** No British Invasion would be complete without the band that started it all. Enjoy a 5-minute arrangement of the "Best of the Beatles" by Lennon & McCartney/arr. Custer.

**Featured Musicians:**
- Kaleb Benda, serving as the Music Director & Conductor.
- Musicians of the Oklahoma Chamber Symphony, bringing these compositions to life.

**Additional Information:**
- Admission is free, making it accessible to all who wish to experience this musical journey.
- The concert is expected to last approximately 60 minutes with no intermission, ensuring a concise yet rich musical experience.
- For more details regarding parking, entry, seating, and more, please visit our Concert FAQ Page.

This event is a celebration of musical genius, from the historical contributions of Ethel Smyth and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to the timeless melodies of The Beatles, all under the baton of Kaleb Benda. Whether you're a classical music aficionado or a fan of The Beatles looking to explore their music in a new light, this concert is sure to offer something for everyone. Don't miss out on this night of exceptional music and cultural exploration.

British Invasion

First Church OKC

Philharmonic Day concludes with a varied concert program. First, drama and beauty in the music from Ethel Smyth’s On the Cliffs of Cornwall, taken from her opera The Wreckers. Then … well, what exactly is this so-called “Ambulance Music”? You’ll find out, but we can tell you it’s not about blaring siren, quite the opposite. Finally, it’s time for film music, as the master John Williams takes us to the Wild West. The music was written for the 1972 film The Cowboys. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Andreas van Tol, with Konserthuset Stockholm’s CEO Susanne Rydén as host.

Philharmonic Day – Concert featuring Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Stockholm City Hall

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is a timeless character. Eternally young, he changes lives and genders but remains fascinated by art. While the novel tells the history of English literature, the theatrical adaptation—incorporating symphonic music and directed by the great Lorraine Pintal—delves into the evolution of music.

Eternal Orlando

Église Notre-Dame de la Recluse

Mercier Public Library

Place des Arts

Église Sainte-Claire

St. Joachim of Pointe-Claire Church

The sea already sounds whipped up in the overture of the opera "The Wreckers" - after all, people here live off what the sea washes ashore after a storm. Tirrenio also comes from the sea to fool the ball guests with his nymphs in Henze's ballet "Undine" - with a colorful and virtuoso divertissement.

On the Saving Shore

Meistersingerhalle

Relive this performance exclusively on West Virginia Public Broadcasting! Stream online or tune in state-wide on your local radio dial.

Encore: Wvso Radio Broadcast

West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Earth, Wind, Water, Fire

Danville High School

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual Gärdet concert by the Maritime Museum is an indispensable tradition for Stockholmers. It’s a chance to pack a picnic basket or buy food on-site and enjoy sublime music and perhpaps a sing-along on the green grass.

The open-air Gärdet Concert

Death was never going to confine the force of nature that was Ethel Smyth to obscurity for long. A trailblazing composer, conductor and feminist; she was a breaker of windows for the suffragettes, and a breaker of glass ceilings for women musicians of the Victorian era. During her life she met discrimination towards her work with defiance, becoming the first woman to have an opera performed at the New York Met and the first female composer to become a Dame.

The Boatswain's Mate

The Pavilion Gardens

Hear from the creative teams behind The Boatswain’s Mate and get insights into the history, music and vision behind this year’s production.

Opera Talk: The Boatswain’s Mate

As the 2023–24 season comes to a close, we’ll have plenty of reasons to celebrate: an extraordinary first season with Thomas Søndergård as our music director and the month-long Pride festivities here in Minneapolis and around the country. In a program close to Thomas’ heart, we invite you to join us for music by composers from the LGBTQ+ community featuring the Minnesota Orchestra return of soloist Francesco Piemontesi and culminating with the fireworks of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony.

Celebrating Pride with Thomas Søndergård

Minnesota Orchestra

Portland Symphony Orchestra

Merrill Auditorium

This program explores political leadership and debate, starting with music by Ethel Smyth, a prominent women’s rights campaigner. Glenn Dicterow, long-time concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic and mentor of our concertmaster Mateusz Wolski, performed Serenade many times with Bernstein himself conducting

Masterworks 8: Power to the People!

Martin Woldson Theater

Join for a stirring concert featuring music from the Upper West Side to deepest Somerset with BSO Principal brass and wind players. A programme journeying to New York with Bernstein, Amelie’s Paris with Yann Tiersen, and rural England with Vaughan Williams and The Wellerman.

Bso on Your Doorstep: Bridport

Bridport Arts Centre

Step into a world of musical mastery with an unforgettable orchestra concert featuring the esteemed guest conductor, James Blachly as he leads the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. Experience the grandeur of Ethel Smyth's powerful Overture to "The Wreckers" as the orchestra transports you to the high seas with its dramatic crescendos and stirring melodies. Delve into the haunting beauty of Ralph Vaughan Williams' timeless masterpiece, On Wenlock Edge, featuring tenor Michael Vallikappil, where lush harmonies and evocative lyrics intertwine to paint a vivid portrait of the English countryside. Be moved by the rich tapestry of sound in William Levi Dawson's groundbreaking Negro Folk Symphony, a celebration of African-American musical heritage that pulses with rhythm, melody, and spirit.

Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic

Schenley Farms Historic District

Msm Symphony Orchestra and Msm Opera Theatre Opera in Concert

Manhattan School of Music

Young British conductor Adam Hickox returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He conducts Stravinsky’s colourful ballet Petrushka as well as Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem, based on The Little Piece of Chalk, a fairy-tale by the Czech writer, Miloš Macourek. And the concert begins with music from Dame Ethel Smyth’s 1906 opera The Wreckers.

Adam Hickox conducts Stravinsky’s Petrushka

BBC Maida Vale Studios

Music Director Andris Nelsons opens the program with the overture to the 1906 opera The Wreckers by Dame Ethel Smyth, a composer and suffragist who was one of England’s leading musicians of her time. American violinist Randall Goosby, the youngest-ever winner of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, makes his BSO debut with Max Bruch’s spirited Violin Concerto No. 1. The program closes with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, composed in 1830 as part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The music quotes the familiar hymn “Ein feste Berg,” a link to Reformation leader Martin Luther.

Andris Nelsons conducts Smyth, Bruch, and Mendelssohn with Randall Goosby, violin

Boston Symphony Hall

The Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company Freimann Series offers audiences chamber music classics up close and personal. Experience highly intimate music-making at its best. This Season’s Freimann performances will feature Romantic composers Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, and Robert Schumann, plus an engaging composition of suffragette Dame Ethel Smyth.

Exotic Discoveries

Purdue University Fort Wayne

The History Center

Juilliard LIVE was launched in 2021 under the leadership of President Damian Woetzel, dramatically expanding access for audiences around the world to Juilliard performances through livestreams and on-demand video. Juilliard LIVE streams nearly 700 performances each year, with new on-demand programs regularly added to the accessible library of content. 

Pre-College Symphony

The Juilliard School

Lucy Martindale (B.M. '24) presents a voice recital.

Student Recital: The Lavender Menace, Featuring Lucy Martindale, Voice

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

The British Are Coming!

University of Idaho

Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of British classical music with the York Symphony Orchestra's captivating concert, "Elgar’s Enigma: British Beauties." This special event is part of the 2023-24 Classical Series, promising an evening that celebrates the Romantic era's most notable British composers. Join us at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at 7:30 PM EST for a two-hour journey through music that has shaped the classical landscape.

The concert will feature performances by Concertmaster Denise Dillenbeck and Principal Horn Cheryl Staherski, highlighting the groundbreaking work of Ethel Smyth with her enchanting Concerto for Violin & Horn. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "The Bamboula," inspired by the vibrant Caribbean dance of the same name, will bring a lively spirit to the evening. The program culminates with Edward Elgar's masterpiece, the Enigma Variations, a work renowned for its musical caricatures of Elgar's friends and its intriguing hidden mystery.

Under the baton of the esteemed Conductor Lawrence Golan, known for his dynamic presence and international acclaim, the York Symphony Orchestra will bring these compositions to life. Golan's expertise and passion for music promise an unforgettable performance. The concert also shines a spotlight on the talents of Cheryl Staherski, a dedicated educator and horn virtuoso, and Denise Dillenbeck, a violinist celebrated for her imaginative and insightful performances.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience the beauty and intrigue of British classical music. Join us for "Elgar’s Enigma: British Beauties" and be part of a night that celebrates the legacy and innovation of Britain's musical geniuses.

Elgar’s Enigma: British Beauties

Appell Center for the Performing Arts

Ben Glassberg closes the BBC Philharmonic’s 2022-23 Bridgewater Hall season with a dazzling programme of twentieth century treasures. Starting with a whisper from one of Britain’s lesser-known composers, Ethel Smyth’s Prelude to Act II, ‘On the Cliffs of Cornwall’ from The Wreckers precedes and predicts Britten’s revolutionary operas and is equally as tantalising as it is radiant. Britten’s bravura Piano Concerto, a welcome chance for Steven Osborne to show off his virtuosic flair in the glistening textures and quirky interplay between piano and orchestra. Lastly, an explosive showstopper in the Symphonic Dances – Rachmaninov’s love-letter to his homeland and his final work.

BBC Philharmonic | 17 June

The Bridgewater Hall

The Campus Band and University Band are ensembles comprised of mostly non music-major performers and community members who come together once a week to make music. The Campus Band presents their program Dances and Dramas featuring doctoral students Luke Yoakam (trumpet) and Carly Wingfield (soprano voice). The University Band celebrates our ever-evolving world with their program Change.

Ui Campus Band And University Band

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

Island City Opera proudly announces four performances of “The Wreckers“,  by Dame Ethel Smyth, March 20 through 28, 2020 at the Alameda Elks Lodge Ballroom, 2255 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA.   The opera will be sung in English with English supertitles, fully staged and costumed, and will be performed with a complete orchestra led by music director Jonathan Khuner, directed by Richard Bogart.

Alameda Elks Lodge

Discover the expressive beauty of the horn in this intimate chamber concert featuring two remarkable works by Johannes Brahms and Dame Ethel Smyth. Audiences will experience Brahms’ beloved Horn Trio, a cornerstone of the chamber music repertoire, alongside a rare chamber transcription of Smyth’s Concerto for Violin, Horn, and Orchestra. Together, these works explore themes of nature, nostalgia, and personal expression while offering contrasting perspectives from two distinctive compositional voices.

Along the way, musicians will share insights into the natural horn tradition that inspired Brahms’ writing and introduce audiences to Smyth’s groundbreaking legacy as both a composer and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. Through engaging commentary and storytelling, listeners will gain a deeper appreciation for the music, the artists behind it, and the historical contexts that shaped these works.

Perfect for both seasoned concertgoers and those new to classical music, this welcoming Up Close performance combines exceptional chamber music with fascinating history, creating meaningful connections between performers, audiences, and the enduring power of artistic expression.

FCS Up Close No. 2

Plymouth Congregational Church, UCC

Christmas Gala: Swan Lake

Koningin Elisabethzaal

Journey through landscapes of passion, drama, and unforgettable beauty in this celebration of Romantic-era music. Featuring acclaimed violinist Andrew Sords, Romantic Masters explores music inspired by national identity, folklore, and the natural world, brought to life through soaring melodies and richly expressive orchestral colors. From dazzling virtuosity to sweeping symphonic grandeur, this program captures the spirit of an era that embraced emotion, imagination, and the power of storytelling through music. A fitting conclusion to Western Piedmont Symphony’s 62nd season, this concert promises an evening of inspiration and exhilaration.

Ethel Smyth

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 22, 2026

FCS Up Close No. 2 · Fort Collins Symphony

Dec 17, 2026

Christmas Gala: Swan Lake · Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

May 22, 2027

Masterworks: Romantic Masters · Western Piedmont Symphony

Past events

Oct 25, 2026

Guest Performance Musikhögskolan i Malmö Symphony Orchestra · Helsingborg Arena och Scen

Oct 3, 2026

Two Classics and a Surprise! · Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra

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