Alan Rawsthorne

Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer.

Life

Rawsthorne was born in Haslingden, Lancashire. After attempting careers in dentistry and architecture, he decided instead to study music in Manchester and Berlin. His breakthrough came with the "Theme and Variations" for two violins (1938) and "Symphonic Studies" for orchestra (1938). Other acclaimed works by Rawsthorne include a viola sonata (1937), two piano concertos (1939, 1951), an oboe concerto (1947), two violin concertos (1948, 1956), a concerto for string orchestra (1949), and the "Elegy" for guitar (1971), a piece written for and completed by Julian Bream after the composer's death. Other works include a cello concerto, three acknowledged string quartets among other chamber works, and three symphonies.

Rawsthorne was married to Isabel Rawsthorne (née Isabel Nichols), an artist, model and muse well-known in the Paris and Soho art scenes. Her contemporaries included Andre Derain, Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon. Isabel Rawsthorne was the widow of composer Constant Lambert and stepmother to Kit Lambert, manager of the rock group The Who, who died in 1981. Isabel died in 1992. Alan Rawsthorne was her third husband; Sefton Delmer (the journalist and member of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War) was her first husband. Isabel was Alan Rawsthorne's second wife, his first wife being Jessie Hinchliffe, a violinist in the Philharmonia Orchestra. Jessie did not re-marry.

Alan Rawsthorne died in 1971 and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex. He was a great-grandson of Dr. Jonathan Bayley, the renowned educationalist, Latin scholar and Swedenborgian minister who is remembered for his philanthropic work in Accrington, Lancashire and in London.

Works

Ballet

*"Madame Chrysanthème"

Orchestral

*Symphonies
**Symphony No. 1 (1950)
**Symphony No. 2 "A Pastoral Symphony" (1959)
**Symphony No. 3 (1964)
*"Symphonic Studies" (1938)
*"Concertante Pastorale"
*Concerto for String Orchestra
*"Cortèges", Fantasy Overture
*Divertimento for Chamber Orchestra
*Elegiac Rhapsody for Strings
*"Hallé Overture"
*"Improvisations on a Theme by Constant Lambert"
*Light Music for Strings
*Suite from "Madame Chrysanthème"
*"Overture for Farnham"
*"Prisoners' March" - from film "the Captive Heart"
*"Street Corner Overture"
*"Theme, Variations and Finale"
*Triptych for Orchestra

Concertante

*Piano
**Piano Concerto No. 1 (1939)
**Piano Concerto No. 2 (1951)
**Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
*Violin
**Violin Concerto No. 1 (1948)
**Violin Concerto No. 2 (1956)
*Cello Concerto (1965)
*Oboe Concerto (1947)
*Clarinet Concerto (1936-7)

Chamber

*String Quartets
**String Quartet No. 1
**String Quartet No. 2
**String Quartet No. 3
*Concertante for Piano and Violin
*Concerto for Ten Instruments
*Clarinet Quartet
*Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn & Bassoon
*Piano Quintet
*Sonatina for Flute, Oboe and Piano
*Suite for Flute, Viola and Harp (1968)
*Theme and Variations for Two Violins
*Piano Trio

Instrumental

*Violin Sonata
*Viola Sonata (1937, revised 1953)
*Cello Sonata
*Suite for Treble Recorder & Piano
*Elegy for Guitar

Piano

*Piano Sonatina
*Four Romantic Pieces
*Bagatelles
*Ballade
*"The Creel": Suite for Piano Duet

Vocal Orchestral

*Carmen Vitale: Choral Suite
*A Canticle of Man: Chamber Cantata
*The God in a Cave: Cantata
*Medieval Diptych 962
*Practical Cats for Speaker and Orchestra
*Tankas of the Four Seasons

Choral

*Canzonet from "A Garland for the Queen"
*Four Seasonal Songs
*Lament for a Sparrow
*The Oxen
*A Rose for Lidice

Vocal

*Three French Nursery Songs
*"We Three Merry Maids"
*Two Songs to Words by John Fletcher
*Carol
*Saraband (with Ernest lrving)
*Scena Rustica for soprano and harp
*"Two Fish"

External links

* [http://www.musicweb.uk.net/rawsth/ The Friends of Alan Rawsthorne]
* [http://www.lsso.co.uk/photos/1967/67%20rawsthorne%20photo.jpgLeicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra] Norman Del Mar, Norma Fisher and the composer following a performance of the 2nd Piano Concerto at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon in 1967
* [http://www.julianlloydwebber.com/rawsthorne.asp Cello Sonata Reviews]