Ethel Bilsland (1892-1982)
"To hear, for the first time, her vision for the piano in her own concerto, dating from her beloved Edwardian age, is beyond my expectations. I think about the pride my grandfather would have felt hearing her work played for the first time with an orchestra." - Ethel Bilsland's granddaughter, Alison Bailey Castellina MBE
|
Ethel Edith Bilsland was a composer, pianist, celebrated soprano and revered professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music. Although Ethel Smyth is the "Ethel" that comes to mind when we think of women who took British music by storm in the early twentieth century, Bilsland also led the revolution for women in music in her own, more unassuming way. The more reserved, younger counterpart to the notoriously rambunctious Smyth, Bilsland was born in Kent and studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music. She instantly made a name for herself as someone to watch. On June 18, 1912, she was the only student composer represented in an orchestral program at Queen's Hall, where her piano concerto received its world premiere. The 'clever' piece (according to one critic) was conducted by Sir Alexander Mackenzie. During her student years, Bilsland composed prolifically. Her music ranged from large-scale orchestral and chamber works to light salon pieces and songs. But as the First World War unfolded, Bilsland began to feel that composition was a luxury she couldn't afford. With the death of her husband Walter Bailey in 1932, she gave up composing entirely in order to provide for her young family. She focused on making a more practical living by teaching voice at the Royal Academy of Music, where the Ethel Bilsland Award for Singing was established in her honour. Our forthcoming recording of her piano concerto, with Samantha Ege as soloist, will be its world premiere recording. |
|
Discover Ethel Bilsland
In 2016, pianist Samantha Ege met one of Bilsland's granddaughters, Anne Wightman, while they were both living in Singapore. Bonding with Anne over the stories of unheard women in classical music, Samantha made the world premiere recording of Bilsland's The Birthday Party on her debut album Four Women: Music for Solo Piano by Price, Kaprálová, Bilsland, and Bonds (2018). A decade after that first encounter, Samantha will be making the world premiere recording of Bilsland’s Piano Concerto on an album titled Dialogues on a British Theme: Ethel Bilsland, William Alwyn, Shirley J. Thompson, Judith Weir, and Camila Cortina Bello. Joining her are the BBC Concert Orchestra with conductor John Andrews. To bring this music to life, Samantha has consulted handwritten manuscripts in the family archive and worked with editor Tom Edney to prepare the scores for performance.
More information will be coming soon!
More information will be coming soon!
Scores and other recordings
Little of Bilsland's work has been recorded. You can listen to her piano suite The Birthday Party (1918) performed by Samantha on her album Four Women.