WILLIAM ALWYN  (1905 - 1985)                          

William Alwyn was born in Northampton, a Midland town which was also the birthplace of two fellow composers - Edmund Rubbra and the much younger Malcolm Arnold.

His musical education was at the Royal Academy of Music.  Here at the early age of 15 he was awarded scholarships for both flute and composition.  At 21 was appointed Professor of Composition, a post which he held for nearly 30 years.  His wide range of compositions earned him  the coveted Collard Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.  Other honours included a fellowship of the R.A.M.,  a Doctorate from the University of Leicester, and in 1978, her Jubilee year, a C.B.E. from the Queen.

Fellow musicians received help and encouragement not only from Alwyn's teaching at the R.A.M., but also from his committee work on their behalf.  He was instrumental in forming the Composers' Guild of Great Britain, serving as its Chairman for three terms:  1949, 1950 and 1954.  He was a Director of the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society; a Vice-President of the Society for the Promotion of New Music (S.P.N.M.); and director of the Performing Right Society.  For many years he was one of the panel reading new scores for the BBC.

A pioneer in composing for films, Alwyn joined the British Documentary Film Movement at its commencement in 1936 and subsequently wrote scores for over 200 films.  In recognition of his distinguished services to the cinema he was made a Fellow of the British Film Academy - the only composer ever to have received this honour.  Films such as Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol, The History of Mr. Polly and the great wartime documentaries Desert Victory, The Way Ahead and The True Glory are still appreciated by the film-viewing public today.

Alwyn also gained great distinction in the concert world.  His wide range of compositions includes five Symphonies, three Concerti Grossi, Concerti for violin, viola, oboe, harp, cor anglais and piano; much highly original chamber and piano music, song cycles and large-scale operas.  His symphonies were first championed by Sir John Barbirolli and this did much to establish his reputation as a symphonist.  A leading American critic has assessed Alwyn's works as 'a potent force in the establishment of neo-romantic music in contemporary composition.'  His music has a wide appeal through his great gifts of melodic invention and his brilliant orchestration:  these have earned him universal recognition.

Few composers have explored the other creative arts but Alwyn's work as a fine artist, skilled linguist and distinguished poet is recognised throughout the world today.

                                                c 1993  Mary Alwyn

 

SOME WORKS

Chamber

Song cycles, string quartets (3), string trio, concerto for flute & 8 wind instruments, piano solos (Sonata alla Toccata,  Fantasy Waltzes, 12 Preludes), pieces for harp and flute and harp (Naiades)

Orchestral

5 symphonies, concerti grossi, Lyra Angelica for harp and strings, Autumn Legend for cor anglais and strings, concerto for oboe, harp, and strings, Elizabethan Dances

Symphony No. 4  'an extraordinarily fine work....the long and beautiful string cantilena which opens the Adagio e molto calmato of the Passacaglia finale....The centrepiece of the scherzo brings a glorious blossoming from the violins            which is equally thrilling in both performances...a remarkably diverse and well-argued symphony, bursting with lyrical ideas and melodic in the way traditional music is communicative, without being old-fashioned.'  (GRAMOPHONE 1992)

Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and Strings     '..a thoroughly original and personal response to the English pastoral tradition...expresses a nostalgia for the pre-war tranquillity of the English countryside...there is a poignant moment of vision, with exquisitely fragile filigree from the oboe...lovely, pastoral coda.' (GRAMOPHONE 1992)

Elizabethan Dances for Orchestra   'This is the sort of work that should represent us abroad ..for its characteristics are those we can proudly call our own.' (by permission of MUSICAL OPINION)

Lyra Angelica (Concerto for Harp)           '...in sum both lyrical and angelic.  It is one of the loveliest works that contemporary English music has given us, a thing of sheer beauty.' (MUSIC AND MUSICIANS)