A Stopped Clock

“Because I have conducted my own operas and love sheep-dogs; because I generally dress in tweeds, and sometimes, at winter afternoon concerts, have even conducted in them; because I was a militant suffragette and seized a chance of beating time to ”The March of the Women” from the window of my cell in Holloway Prison with a tooth-brush; because I have written books, spoken speeches, broadcast, and don’t always make sure that my hat is on straight; for these and other equally pertinent reasons, in a certain sense I am well known.”
- Dame Ethel Smyth

“A Stopped Clock”, tells the remarkable life and passionate relationships of English composer, conductor and suffragette Dame Ethel Smyth.

“Miss Smyth is one of the few women composers whom one can seriously consider to be achieving something valuable in the field of musical creation. She had been living in Leipzig for a number of years already, had thoroughly studied composition theory and written several interesting works, of which the best one is a Violin Sonata that I later heard her play together with Mr Brodsky in a very fine performance. It is a work of great promise, which shows that she has the potential to become a very serious and gifted composer. Since of course no Englishwoman can be without her peculiarities and eccentricities, it is no wonder that Miss Smyth displays some, too—first among these is her beautiful dog, which is inseparable with this young spinster and always dashes ahead to announce her appearance, as was the case on this occasion and on all others which I witnessed. Secondly, there is her passion for hunting, to satisfy which Miss Smyth sometimes goes off to England for a while. And, thirdly, her incredible, incomprehensible veneration, nay, passion for the enigmatic musical genius of Brahms. In her view, Brahms is the culmination of all music, and everything that came before him served merely as necessary groundwork so that, finally, absolute musical beauty could be embodied in the person of the Viennese master” (Autobiographical Account of a Tour Abroad in the Year 1888, TH 316).

PS – All Dame Smyth’s dogs were named MARCO!

---

About the music

The musical selections for cello and piano are by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Vaughn Williams, Clara Schumann and Amy Beach

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Clark Schuldmann Duo performing “Dreaming” by Amy Beach

---

Performers

Chamber Music PLUS is pleased to introduce Tucson audiences to the superb Broadway actress Jenny Sterlin.

At the age of eight, Jenny Sterlin knew she wanted to be an actress. Born in England, the first play she watched was Peter Pan in a London theater. From that point, she was determined to devote her life to the stage. She joined a children’s theater group and auditioned for every school play. After high school, Ms. Sterlin spent two years at the Birmingham Theatre School. The program was a rigorous one, filling her days with scene study, speech work, singing, ballet, tap, fencing, makeup, theater history, and even vaudeville.
In the years since this training, Ms. Sterlin has been active in every aspect of the theater. She has performed on stages in England, Canada, and the United States. She also graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts and has designed many theater courses.
Her most recent theater credits include: “East is East” at the Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, at City Center, New York, and a four-month stint on Broadway in “Heartbreak House.” In August, she returned to England to do Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.”

In addition to acting, she has taught theater arts and has run several drama groups. When she started the Rubicon Theatre Company, Ms. Sterlin added producing and directing to her rapidly growing list of talents. Today, she continues to accept stage roles and teach acting courses.

In addition to all that Jenny Sterlin has more than 70 audio titles to her credit, including Laurie R. King’s popular Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell series. She just finished recording Maeve Binchy’s WHITETHORN WOODS and Virginia Henley’s INFAMOUS and soon begins work on Julia Quinn’s THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER.

Jenny Sterlin is known in the business as: “an actor’s actress”. She has been a beloved guest of Chamber Music PLUS audiences in CT for many years. We are delighted to introduce her to Tucson.

Joining Jenny Sterlin for this performance are pianist Sanda Schuldmann and cellist Harry Clark.