This summer Aura Go will give the first Australian performances Doreen Carwithen’s Concerto for Piano and Strings with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Sophie Rowell, at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 10 and 13 July. They present the piece alongside Peter Sculthorpe’s serene Pastorale from his String Quartet No.4.
The concerto follows a traditional three-movement pattern and sees Carwithen blend lithe neoclassicism with lyrical effusiveness. ‘Allegro assai’ begins with a muscular back-and-forth between soloist and ensemble, with rugged, rhythmic gestures, before broader, more sweeping melodies come to fore later. ‘Lento’ begins with a gentle underlay of murmuring, muted strings and solo violin in dialogue with the piano, in a movement with a more pronounced Romantic character than those flanking it. The finale – ‘Moderato e deciso ma con moto’ – is in vigorous triple-time. A flamboyant cadenza brings the movement to a head, succeeded by a subdued, lyrical sequence for strings whose intensity grows and bursts forth in a lively coda.
Carwithen’s concerto premiered in a broadcast in 1951 and received its first live performance at the 1952 BBC Proms, with Iris Loveridge as soloist joined by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Trevor Harvey. Music historian Leah Broad, whose acclaimed study Quartet provides a rich account of the composer’s life and career, notes that the concerto received an effusive reception following its debut. In March and April 2025 it received performances from Alexandra Dariescu in Germany – the national premiere with the Hofer Symphoniker – and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, conducted by Sakari Oramo.
25 March saw the release of the third commercial recording to date of the concerto, from Samantha Ege and Lontano Orchestra, conducted by Odaline de la Martinez – a keen reflection of the work’s significance in Carwithen’s output as well as its importance in British twentieth-century musical history. Read about the recording, released by Lorelt, in Pianist magazine here. Howard Shelley previously recorded the work with Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1997 for Chandos; in 2013 it was released on SOMM by Mark Bebbington and Innovation Chamber Ensemble, whose players were drawn from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Jenkinson.
In her later years, Carwithen’s rich catalogue of works gained wider recognition, and is becoming a regular fixture of concert programmes. Her Men of Sherwood Forest Overture was featured at the 2024 BBC Proms by Anna-Maria Helsing and the BBC Concert Orchestra. The 8 ½-minute overture ODTAA – written when she was aged only 23 and premiered by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra – receives its Icelandic premiere in May 2025 from Andrew Manze and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. The 2nd Carwithen Music Festival takes place in Buckinghamshire in July 2025; in 2025/26 the BBC Philharmonic will make a new recording of Carwithen’s music for the silver screen.
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