Dorothy Howell

Composer Dorothy Howell wrote large-scale orchestral works in a late Romantic style and was dubbed the "English Richard Strauss" in the musical press. At 13, Howell wrote a set of six pieces for piano that were published. In 1919, her tone poem Lamia, based on a poem by John Keats, was premiered at the Proms concerts under the baton of Sir Henry Wood. That work brought Howell considerable publicity, and through the 1920s, several of her larger works found performances. An influential educator, she was a member of the faculty at the Royal Academy of Music from 1924 to 1970, and she later taught at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire as well. An album of her chamber music performed by violinist Lorraine McAslan and pianist Sophia Rahman appeared in 2004, and conductor Rebecca Miller led the BBC Concert Orchestra on a collection of Howell's orchestral works in 2024.