William Alwyn (November 7, 1905 – September 11, 1985) was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A conductor conducting a band at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ...

Life

William Alwyn was born in Northampton where he showed an early interest in music and began to learn to play the piccolo. At age 15 he entered the Royal Academy of Music in London where he studied flute and composition. He was a virtuoso flutist and for a time was the principal flutist of the London Symphony Orchestra. Alwyn served as professor of composition at the Royal Academy from 1926 to 1955. Northampton Guildhall, built 1861-4, E.W. Godwin, architect Northampton is a large market town and a local government district in central England upon the River Nene, and the county town of Northamptonshire. ... A Yamaha piccolo. ... The Royal Academy of Music is a music school in London, England and one of the leading music institutions in the world. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Musical composition is: an original piece of music the structure of a musical piece the process of creating a new piece of music // A musical composition A piece of music exists in the form of a written composition in musical notation or as a single acoustic event (a live performance... The London Symphony Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LSO) is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

William Alwyn had a remarkable range of talents. He was a distinguished linguist, poet, and artist, as well as musician. The following is a list of linguists, those who study linguistics. ... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

His compositional output was varied and large and included five symphonies, two operas, several concertos and string quartets.

Alwyn wrote over 70 film scores from 1941 to 1962. His classic film scores included Odd Man Out, Desert Victory, Fires Were Started, The History of Mr Polly, The Fallen Idol and The Black Tent.

Alwyn was a Romantic composer of a unique sort. He devised his own alternative to twelve-tone serialism and he relished dissonance. The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ...

Alwyn's concerto for harp and string orchestra, Lyra Angelica, became popularly known when figure skater Michelle Kwan performed to it at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The harp is a stringed instrument which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ... Figure skating is an ice skating sporting event where individuals, mixed couples, or groups perform spins, jumps, and other moves on the ice, often to music. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michelle Kwan Michelle Kwan skating in the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships Exhibition in Dortmund, Germany Michelle Wing Kwan (Simplified Chinese: 关颖珊; Traditional Chinese: 關穎珊; pinyin: Guān Yǐngshān; born July 7, 1980), is an American figure skater and media celebrity who has won... The XVIII Olympic Winter Games were held in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. ...

William Alwyn died in Southwold, England. He was survived by his second wife, the composer Doreen Carwithen, and two sons. View of town, pier and beach Southwold is an ancient town in the Waveney district in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, at the mouth of the River Blyth. ... Doreen Carwithen was a British composer of classical and film music. ...

Works

Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1
  • Symphony No. 2
  • Symphony No. 3
  • Symphony No. 4
  • Symphony No. 5 Hydriotaphia
• Sinfonietta for Strings

Concertante

• Harp Concerto Lyra Angelica
• Piano Concerto No. 1
• Piano Concerto No. 2

Film music

• They Flew Alone (1941)
• Penn of Pennsylvania (1941)
• Squadron Leader X (1942)
• Escape To Danger (1943)
• On Approval (1943)
• Medal For The General (1944)
• Great Day (1945)
• The Rake's Progress (1945)
• Green For Danger (1946)
• I See a Dark Stranger (1946)
• Odd Man Out (1946)
• Captain Boycott (1947)
• Take My Life (1947)
• The October Man (1947)
• Escape (1948)
• The Fallen Idol (1948)
• So Evil My Love (1948)
• The Winslow Boy (1948)
• The Cure For Love (1949)
• The Golden Salamander (1949)
• The History of Mr Polly (1949)
• Madeleine (1949)
• The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)
• The Magnet (1950)
• Morning Departure (1950)
• The Mudlark (1950)
• State Secret (1950)
• The House in The Square (1951)
• Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
• The Magic Box (1951)
• Night Without Stars (1951)
• No Resting Place (1951)
• The Crimson Pirate (1952)
• Saturday Island (1952)
• The Long Memory (1952)
• Mandy (1952)
• The Card (1952)
• The Malta Story (1953)
• Personal Affair (1953)
• The Master Of Ballantrae (1953)
• The Million Pound Note (1954)
• The Rainbow Jacket (1954)
• The Seekers (1954)
• Svengali (1954)
• Bedevilled (1955)
• Geordie (1955)
• The Ship That Died Of Shame (1955)
• The Black Tent (1956)
• Safari (1956)
• Smi1ey (1956)
• Zarak (1957)
• Manuela (1957)
• The Smallest Show On Earth (1957)
• A Night to Remember (1958)
• Fortune is a Woman (1958)
• Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)
• I Accuse (1958)
• The Silent Enemy (1958)
• Devil's Bait (1959)
• Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
• The Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959)
• Shake Hands With The Devil (1959)
• Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
• The Professionals (1960)
• The Naked Edge (1961)
• In Search of the Castaways (1962)
• Life for Ruth (1962)
• Night Of The Eagle (1962)
• The Running Man (1963)

External links

• William Alwyn at musicweb
• William Alwyn at the Internet Movie Database
• William Alwyn at All Music Guide