A Short Introduction to David Gow (1924-1993)

A few days ago I was listening to David Gow’s Overture: One-Two-Five, written in 1976 to celebrate the introduction of British Rail’s High Speed Train between London and Bristol. More about this work in another post. Sadly, precious few of his compositions seem to have been committed to record or CD. This is in spite of the fact that during his career he had many successful performances by major symphony orchestras and ensembles including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Sir Charles Groves, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester. There were many broadcasts both at home and abroad. 

David Gow was born in London on 6 April 1924. He was from a Scottish family. Gow studied at the Royal College of Music, under the auspices of Gordon Jacob for composition and Frank Merrick for piano. In 1945 he won the Clements Prize with his Clarinet Quintet. Gow had private lessons with Alan Bush. He studied further as an external student at Durham University, where he was awarded BMus.

Much of his career was spent teaching, including The Open University and the Workers’ Educational Association. In 1970, Gow moved to Wiltshire, where he was Lecturer in Music at Swindon College.

After retirement, he began to focus more on composition. His work included most genre, except for opera. This featured three symphonies, overtures and a multitude of concerted works. There were nine string quartet, songs, choral music, and works for the piano and organ. His musical aesthetic tended toward “serialism tempered by tonality.”

David Gow died in Swindon on 23 February 1993.

Based on the one or two positive reviews I have come across in the musical press, I think it would be good to have a CD dedicated to his work.