He was a composer, conductor, poet, artist and teacher born in Northampton, England who started to be interested in music from a young age. He learned the piccolo before entering the Royal Academy of Music on scholarships and when he was fifteen he went on to study composition and flute.
He became a virtuoso flautist and was employed by the London Symphony Orchestra as their principal flute. In 1926 he accepted the position of Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and he would stay there until 1955.
Among his honours were the Collard Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, fellowships from the British Film Academy, Royal Academy of Music and the International Poetry Society, and he was awarded the C.B.E. by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978.
A contemporary of Britten, Tippett & Walton, he was a prolific composer of classical and film music and would write many pieces that included five symphonies, concertos, string quartets and four operas, and in the movies he wrote the scores for 60 films that included The Fallen Idol, Swiss Family Robinson, Carve Her Name With Pride, Odd Man Out and The History of Mr. Polly, and around 150 documentaries. He lived in the county of Suffolk in England and in 1985 he died in Southwold there when he was 79 years old. His wife was the composer Doreen Carwithen.
Autumn Legend for English Horn and String Orchestra
City of London Sinfonia
Conductor – Richard Hickox
Nicholas Daniel – English Horn
Chandos 9065 (Alwyn: Lyra Angelica, Autumn Legend)
Desert Victory – Suite
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – Rumon Gamba
Chandos CHAN 9959 (The Film Music of Wiliam Alwyn, Vol. 2)
Lyra Angelica – Concert for Harp and Orchestra
City of London Sinfonia
Conductor – Richard Hickox
Harp – Rachel Masters
Chandos 9065 (Alwyn: Lyra Angelica, Autumn Legend)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – David Lloyd-Jones
Harp – Suzanne Willison
Naxos 8.557647 (Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5/Harp Concerto “Lyra Angelica”)
Pastoral Fantasia for Viola and String Orchestra
City of London Sinfonia
Conductor – Richard Hickox
Viola – Steven Tees
Chandos 9065 (Alwyn: Lyra Angelica, Autumn Legend)
Sonata for Oboe and Piano
Oboe – Nicholas Daniel,
Julius Drake, piano
Chandos 9197 (Alwyn: Chamber Works, Vol. 2)
Suite of Scottish Dances
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Conductor – Gavin Sutherland
ASV CD WHL 2116 (British Light Music)
Symphony No. 2 recordings
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – David Lloyd-Jones
Naxos 8.557647 (Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5/Harp Concerto “Lyra Angelica”)
Symphony No. 5 – Hydriotaphia recordings
London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor – Richard Hickox
Chandos CHAN 9196 (Alwyn: Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 2, Sinfonietta)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – David Lloyd-Jones
Naxos 8.557647 (Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5/Harp Concerto “Lyra Angelica”)
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