The FRIENDS of ALAN
RAWSTHORNE
Secretary: Andrew P. Knowles – 30,
Florida Avenue, Hartford, Huntingdon, Cambs. PE29 1PY
Telephone 01480 456931 : e-mail apkmusicprom@ntlworld.com
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ALAN RAWSTHORNE The composer was born on 2 May 1905 in Haslingden, Lancashire. He
reached his early twenties before deciding to take up music as his chosen
career. First he undertook the study of dentistry. Of this Rawsthorne was to
say I gave that up, thank God, before getting near anyone's mouth; his friend Constant Lambert also
commented, in characteristic style, Mr Rawsthorne assures me that he
has given up the practice of dentistry, even as a hobby. Having
contrived not to pass any examinations in dentistry he went on to study
architecture. By applying the same examination technique he paved the way for
his entrance to The Royal Manchester College of Music to study piano, cello
and composition. On leaving college in 1930 he continued his studies abroad,
notably with Egon Petri. From 1932 to 1934 he taught at Dartington Hall and
was composer in residence for the School of Dance and Mime. He gained his first notable success at the London Festival of the
International Society for Contemporary Music in 1938 with a performance of
his Theme and Variations for
Two Violins. A further success was registered at the
Warsaw Festival of the same organization in 1939 with his Symphonic
Studies, a first and highly accomplished orchestral score, which was
to win an established place in the orchestral repertoire. Following the war, in which he served in the Army, he devoted himself
to composition, and between then and his death in 1971 he was to produce a
number of substantial works in most of the established forms, many of these
to commissions, including a very distinctive contribution to the genre of
music for films. He demonstrated his own and very distinctive voice from the very earliest
of his published compositions. His works are marked by clarity of expression
and form, craftsmanship and conciseness. His personality shows through in a
degree of understatement, refusal to compromise or follow fashion and, where
fitting, dry wit. His is a voice now too infrequently heard in the concert hall or on
the radio. The time is ripe for making it audible once again and to this the
Society is dedicated. Alan Rawsthorne died in Cambridge on 24 July 1971. |
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“The road to music has many different paths. As
far as British music is concerned, Rawsthorne stands in the direct line of
Elgar, Walton, Constant Lambert and Tippett. There is no doubt that his
influence on later composers will prove immense.” Francis Routh in Contemporary British Music London:
Macdonald, 1972. |
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last update February 2019 |