It is unfortunate that this concerto got off to a bad start. It was written specifically for the Dutch pianist, Cor de Groot (1914-93) and was due to be played at the 1960 Henry Wood Promenade Concert series. Sadly, de Groot suffered a stroke, which ended his career. The Concerto was abandoned, the score marked “Cancelled” and was consigned to a cupboard. In the 1990s the composer’s wife, Mary Alwyn (Doreen Carwithen) recovered the holograph, discovered that the slow movement had been cut by William, and a short bridge passage inserted between the outer two movements. She restored the pensive Andante.
Stylistically, it is accessible and melodic. It owes little to contemporary music then being written. In fact, this Concerto is characterised by a deep chromaticism that looks to the big romantic piano concertos of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Yet, it is not a pastiche. Alwyn has managed to fuse “hustle and bustle” with some intensely thought-out romantic melodies. It is an extrovert work that would have appealed to Prommers more than 60 years ago. To my knowledge, it has never been performed in public. The Piano Concerto was only premiered during the Chandos recording sessions in January 1992/3.
Naïades: Fantasy Sonata for flute and harp (1971)
This is one of the most remarkable works devised for the flute by an Englishman. It was composed in 1971 specifically for the husband-and-wife team of Christopher Hyde-Smith, flute and Marisa Robles, harp.
In the 1973 Aldeburgh Festival Programme Book, William Alwyn gives a perfectly succinct note: "My studio overlooks the river Blyth—tidal waters flanked by a broad expanse of reedy marshes, haunt of shrill seabirds. To wander there on a summer evening, when the reeds are a rustling sheet of gold and the water the colour of the ‘wine-dark’ sea, is to believe again in Pan and Syrinx, sense the presence of Undine, and hear the Naiads sporting in the shallows, hidden from mortal sight by the shrouding reeds." On the other hand, this is not simply a tone poem. Formally, it is a sonata in one movement and works equally well as absolute music. Yet the evocation of Greek mythology, will bring pleasure to many listeners, who are lucky enough to appreciate the allusions.
There is a definite ‘Francophile’ mood to Naïades. Alwyn has composed a ‘Greek pastoral’ seen through French eyes, with Ravel’s and with Poulenc’s shadow in the background. The imagery of this watery score has been relocated from the springs of Mount Helicon to the Marshlands of Suffolk.
Naïades was premiered at the 1971 Bath Festival by the dedicatees. It was later recorded by them for the Lyrita label.
Miss Julie (1972-6)
The Daily Telegraph critic (18 July 1977 p.7) reporting on the first broadcast performance (16 July 1977) of Alywn’s opera Miss Julie, considered that it was “melancholy to contemplate the neglect of such an expert and winning composer because of the conservative cast of his music.” Furthermore, “the atmosphere…of forbidden love between mistress and servant wrapped in the warmth of midsummer night, ominous, sensual, obsessive, is finely captured and sustained by music which could evince a heady Tristanesque sexuality, while defining the lovers’ social and character differences.”
William Alwyn’s first thoughts about Miss Julie date back to the 1930s. Sketches were made in the 1950s, but it was eventually finished between 1973 and 1976. The opera is based on the play by the Swedish author and playwright August Strindberg (1849-1912). The libretto is by the composer. Andrew Knowles (CD Liner Notes Naxos 8.570705) gives an excellent précis of the opera, which deserves quotation: it concerns “the spoilt, rich daughter of a Count who falls under the spell of the manservant Jean. The latter plays with Miss Julie’s affections and seduces her, then rejects her and finally tempts her into suicide as the only way of escape from her shame.” The opera is characterised by lush, almost filmic scoring, and perfectly singable vocal lines. Two diverse composers who inspire this opera are Alban Berg and Giacomo Puccini.
For listeners who may not wish to indulge in two hours of opera, the Suite from Miss Julie presents a good conspectus of the drama, romance, and intimacy of the score. It was arranged by Philip Lane in 2000.
It seems ironic that Miss Julie was not given a full professional staged performance in the United Kingdom until 1997, at that year’s Norwich and Norfolk Festival.
String Quartet No. 3 (1984)
All through his life Alwyn wrote for this medium. The earliest example was the String Quartet No.0 dating from 1920. This flow of chamber works continued until 1936, when No.13 was completed. The scores to some of these are now missing. As noted above, he did not destroy all his “early horrors.” In recent years, most of the surviving quartets have been revived, and released on CD. They have received considerable praise from the musical press.
In 1953, Alwyn finished his first “official” String Quartet. This was followed in 1975 by the evocatively named Second Quartet, ‘Spring Waters.’ His last completed major work was his String Quartet No.3 published in 1984. It was dedicated to Alwyn’s friend, the diplomat, author and translator, Sir Cecil Parrott who had died on 23 June 1984. Andrew Knowles (CD Liner Notes 8.570560) explains that its genesis was sparked by the “recording sessions for the first string quartets by the Quartet of London at Snape Maltings in 1982.” Alwyn remarked: “Again I was filled with the desire to compose yet one more work for this most perfect of mediums.”
The mood of the entire Quartet is autumnal. The composer (CD Liner Notes, Chan 8440) himself noted the powerful opening dominated by “fortissimo rhythmic chords and a leaping melody the on the cello.” This is contrasted with “a gently brooding second subject.” The second movement is elegiac in mood, as befits the work’s ascription. The intensity of this is relieved by a dance-like middle section. The progress of much of the piece is more concerned with texture than with dialogue. This String Quartet makes a perfect swansong, summed up in the literary tag for this work. Alwyn cites words by Joy Finzi, “All that is about me/a radiance – a sigh/Time now gathers my winding sheet/of syllable and song.”
Alwyn on Record
The earliest record of music by William Alwyn would seem to be Two Folk Tunes for cello and piano issued on a 78rpm record, c.1940. This was presented in an arrangement for the violist Watson Forbes and the harpist Maria Korchinska. The first LP devoted to Alwyn’s music was a recital of piano works played by Sheila Randall. This was issued on the legendary Lyrita label in 1960.
It was the 1970s that saw a huge impetus given to William Alwyn’s music. Once again, Lyrita was in the vanguard. The entire cycle of five symphonies was released between 1972 and 1977. In each case, the London Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by the composer. These four LPs also included the tone-poem The Magic Island and the Sinfonietta for Strings. Later releases from Lyrita featured the premiere recordings of the opera Miss Julie, several concerted works, and an album of chamber music.
Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra began a major cycle of Alwyn’s orchestral works for the Chandos Record label in 1992. This included all the symphonies, the two piano concertos, the violin concerto, and the three Concerto Grosso. A survey of Alwyn’s film scores was begun in 1993, eventually running to four volumes. The latest (the fourth) was issued in 2016.
In 2005, David Lloyd-Jones and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra began yet another cycle of the symphonies for the Naxos label. These included several of the early orchestral works once believed to have been lost. Other record companies contributing to Alwyn’s catalogue include SOMM and Dutton Epoch. There are also many recordings in the BBC and the British Library Sound Archives.
At the present time (June 2026) the vast majority of William Alywn’s ‘art’ music has been released on LP, CD or download. This includes many early pieces that were once thought to be destroyed. The latest project has been the Lyrita/SOMM recordings of the early String Quartets. There are also a handful of historical recordings available, including John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Conclusion
William Alwyn’s achievement is wide ranging. Often belittled as a “film music” composer, the reality is more complex. Motion pictures and documentaries do feature extensively in his catalogue. The character of this genre does permeate some of his concert repertoire. Yet, his style is also eclectic. The listener will find Alwyn being romantic, neo-classical, practicing his own brand of twelve-tone music, with nods to Baroque and modernist idioms. He tackled most genres from opera to symphonies, concertos to song-cycles and oratorios to chamber works. William Alwyn’s style is accessible, sometimes challenging, never lacking in interest, and always showing superlative craftsmanship.
Concluded.
This essay was first printed in the 2021 edition of Spirited, the Journal of the English Music Festival.
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