Library

Malcolm Williamson

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia:

Malcolm (Benjamin Graham Christopher) Williamson

Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Music Encyclopedia

(b Sydney, 21 Nov 1931). Australian composer. He studied with Goossens in Sydney and Lutyens in London, where he has spent most of his time since 1950. His earlier works lean either towards Messiaen and sometimes Boulez, or towards a Stravinsky-Poulenc kind of neo-classicism. Partly under Britten's influence, this dichotomy was resolved in his operas Our Man in Havana (1963) andEnglish Eccentrics (1964). Later works include more operas, choral works (Mass of Christ the King, 1978), symphonies and concertos. In 1975 he was appointed Master of the Queen's Music.


Gale Musician Profiles:

Williamson, Malcolm

Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Musicians

Composer, pianist, organist

Malcolm Benjamin Williamson died in March of 2003, after nearly three decades spent as Master of the Queen's Music, the title bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975. Similar to the post of a Poet Laureate, the position Master of the Queen's Music is a composer's honor that entails writing music for selected royal and state occasions. Williamson was the first non-Briton ever to serve in the post, and his tenure was a controversial one. He delivered few major works to the queen during his 27 years, but his overall career was a prolific one: Williamson wrote more than 120 works, across all genres, from operas to symphonies to popular music. His compositions were described as "metrically inventive and melodically attractive" by a Daily Telegraph obituary writer, while the Independent 's Bayan Northcott noted that Williamson was "astonishingly neglected for a figure of such creative individuality, substance and skill."

Williamson was born Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson on November 21, 1931, in Sydney, Australia, the son of an Anglican minister. His musical talent was apparent at an early age, and he entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at age eleven, where he studied with Eugene Goossens. Trained in the French horn, piano, and composition, Williamson moved to London in 1953 to study composition further with Elisabeth Lutyens and Erwin Stein. He began playing the organ in part as a result of his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1952, for he was enamored of the notoriously difficult religious music works composed by France's Olivier Messiaen, also a Catholic. He wrote his first composition in 1954, but he struggled financially for a time, and took a job in a nightclub as a pianist. He also worked at Harrods department store as a sales clerk, took proofreading work, and even wrote film scores for horror movies.

In 1955 Williamson landed a job as the assistant organist at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Farm Street in London, and he went on to a stint at St. Peter's, in the Limehouse quarter of the city, in 1958. His breakthrough came in 1956, when his First Piano Sonata debuted at the Aldeburgh Festival. Fons Amoris, a work for the organ, was heard at the Royal Festival Hall that same year, and in June of 1957 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed his First Symphony, also called "Elavimini," Latin for "let us be lifted up." Written shortly after his grandmother's death and based on the Bible's Psalm 24, the work "displayed an extraordinary emotional depth and spiritual maturity, and was acclaimed as an astonishing achievement for a composer in his early twenties," Williamson's Daily Telegraph obituary noted.

Gained Increasing Renown
The first flushes of success enabled Williamson to work full-time as a composer, save for a stint in the early 1960s teaching at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, before he reached age 30—a rare achievement in classical circles. The rest of the decade was a productive one for him, and his work was increasingly hailed as evidence of a new generation of outstanding composers working in Britain at the time. His 1963 opera, Our Man in Havana—based on the Graham Greene novel of same title—premiered at Sadler's Wells to critical acclaim. Another, The Violins of Saint-Jacques, was also heralded upon its 1966 debut. "It displayed a happy eclecticism," a writer for the Independent noted, "a Straussian richness sits alongside Lulu-esque Expressionism and a direct and memorable tunefulness. All these works display an interest in a central martyr figure, a victim."

Williamson also won many prestigious commissions over the years, such as a Sinfonietta that served as the 1965 inaugural concert for England's Radio 3, and Vision of Christ-Phoenix, written for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, which had been badly damaged by Luftwaffe bombs during World War II. He was often compared to one of Britain's best known twentieth century composers, Benjamin Britten, but later in the decade "the dissenting voices began to be heard; Williamson, it was said, was too glib, too popu-list, too uncritical, and too diffuse," noted Guardian writer Tim McDonald.

Despite the sniping, the commissions continued, and Williamson was involved with several notable organizations, including the University of London Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He was said to have won more commissions in his lifetime than any other composer of his generation. Critics questioned the direction of his career, however, when he began writing operas for children, such as The Happy Prince, a 1965 work based on an Oscar Wilde story. "It attracted international publicity," a Times of London contributor wrote of its Farnham Parish Church premier, "and was melodious, with generally conventional harmonies and some mildly contemporary idioms that were especially singable by children."

Master of the Queen's Music
Williamson derived the idea to write these "cassations," or mini-operas, after starting to teach his own children about music. These works involved audience participation and were designed to be instructional yet enjoyable. Critics were scathing in their assessments of such works as 1971's The Stone Wall, and The Devil's Bridge, among many others. It was, therefore, somewhat of a surprise to many in British classical circles when Queen Elizabeth II named him Master of the Queen's Music in 1975. The monarch was said to be eager to display a more inclusive attitude toward the Commonwealth nations, of which Australia was one, and the choice of Williamson was said to be a symbolic one. The position dated back to the reign of King Charles I in 1626, and Britten had recommended Williamson for the job. It was a similar post to the queen's Poet Laureate, attached to a modest stipend and the duty to compose music at the queen's behest. His first major commission as such came due in June of 1977 to mark the queen's Jubilee, the series of festivities that honored her 25th year on the throne. Yet Williamson was in ill health at the time, and his marriage was disintegrating. Wed to Dolores Daniel since 1960, he was the father of three; they were divorced in 1978 and he thereafter lived with the publisher of his music, Simon Campion.

The Jubilee symphony was delivered late and was never performed by the London Philharmonic for that occasion or any other. That same year, however, Williamson had also written music for the acclaimed animated film Watership Down. The mishap over the Jubilee symphony hindered the upward trajectory of his career at that point. "When royal displeasure leaked out, he found himself cold-shouldered by the musical establishment," noted his Daily Telegraph obituary. Williamson continued to write music, but during the next quarter-century his music was only occasionally performed by major international musical bodies.

"Pushing Doors Marked Pull"
Williamson enjoyed ties still to his native land, however. A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary evinced "an aspect of his work that few had suspected: an enthusiastic involvement in music-making for children with learning difficulties, and an intense engagement with Aboriginal rights," a writer for the Independent noted. In 1988 he was commissioned to write the Bicentennial Anthem marking the 200th anniversary of Australia's founding. "Most of my music is Australian," the Guardian's McDonald quoted him as saying. "Not the bush or the deserts, but the brashness of the cities. The sort of brashness that makes Australians go through life pushing doors marked pull."

The final two major works of Williamson's career came in 1995: one was The Year of the Birds for soprano and orchestra, dedicated to his friend, the novelist Iris Murdoch, and premiering at the BBC Proms. He also wrote With Proud Thanksgiving, a commission to mark the 50th year of the United Nations. Outside of the conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, Christopher Austin, few other musical luminaries put his work in their repertoires.

In his later years, Williamson became known for his controversial statements to the press. When Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was commissioned to write music in honor of the queen's 40th Jubilee celebration, Williamson derided Webber and famously told the press, "I'd run a hundred miles rather than listen to Cats," according to New Statesman writer Dermot Clinch. A few years later, he also criticized the late Britten. "In my opinion, Britten's music is ephemeral. It will not last," a report from the Independent 's Marianne Macdonald quoted him as saying. Britten had been the subject of a recent biography that revealed some unsavory details, including pedophilia. In a more illuminating statement in the same article, Williamson called the composer "curiously schizophrenic…. I knew him for 40 years. He was very good to me and exceedingly cruel."

Selected discography
Sinfonietta for Orchestra, RCA, 1978.
Australian Piano Concertos/Edwards, Williamson, Scul-thorpe, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1982.
(Ian Munro) A Patchwork of Shadows, Tall Poppies, 1995.
(David Rumsey) Chrysalis, MBS, 1996.
(Antony Gray) Malcolm Williamson: Complete Works for Piano, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2003.

Selected compositions
Santiago de Espada (symphony), 1957.
First Piano Sonata, 1956.
Fons Amoris, 1956.
Sinfonia Concertante (symphony), 1961.
The Display (ballet), 1963.
Our Man in Havana (opera), 1963.
English Eccentrics (chamber opera), 1964.
Sinfonietta (symphony), 1965.
The Happy Prince (chamber opera), 1965.
The Violins of Saint-Jacques (opera), 1966.
Pas de Quatre (ballet), 1967.
The Growing Castle (chamber opera), 1968.
Lucky Peter's Journey (opera), 1969.
The Red Sea (chamber opera), 1972.
Watership Down (film score), 1977.
Mass of Christ the King (religious music), 1978.
Bicentennial Anthem (symphony), 1988.
With Proud Thanksgiving (symphony), 1995.
The Year of the Birds (soprano and orchestra), 1995.
 Sources
Daily Telegraph (London, England), March 4, 2003, p. 1.
Guardian (London, England), March 4, 2003, p. 27.
Independent (London, England), July 26, 1996, p. 1; November 17, 2001, p. 8; March 4, 2003, p. 20.
New Statesman, September 6, 1996, p. 38.
New York Times, March 9, 2003, p. A25.
Times (London, England), March 4, 2003.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Malcolm Williamson

Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the composer. For the cryptographer, see Malcolm J. Williamson.
Malcolm Williamson

Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO (honorary), CBE (21 November 1931 – 2 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death.

Contents

Biography

Williamson was born in Sydney and studied composition and horn at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His teachers included Eugene Goossens.[1] In 1950 he moved to London where he worked as an organist, a proofreader, and a nightclub pianist. From 1953 he studied with Elisabeth Lutyens. Williamson was a prolific composer at this time, receiving many commissions and often performed his own works, both on organ and piano.

In 1975, the death of Sir Arthur Bliss left the title of Master of the Queen's Music vacant. The selection of Williamson to fill this post was a surprise, over other composers such as Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett and Malcolm Arnold, such that William Walton had remarked that "the wrong Malcolm" had been chosen.[2] In addition, Williamson was the first non-Briton to hold the post.[3] He wrote a number of pieces connected to his royal post, including Mass of Christ the King (1978) (see below) and Lament in Memory of Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1980). However, controversy attended his tenure, notably his failure to complete the intended "Jubilee Symphony" for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.[4] He became less prolific in "Royal" works during the last twenty years or so of his life, although he never completely ceased to take interest in writing music for the Royal Family (see list of "Royal Works" below). His overall compositional output slowed considerably due to a series of illnesses. He died in 2003 in a hospital in Cambridge.

Williamson married Dolores Daniel in 1960 and had one son and two daughters.[5][6]

Williamson's music

Some of Williamson's early works use the twelve tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg, but his greatest influence is often said to be Olivier Messiaen. He discovered Messiaen's music shortly before converting to Roman Catholicism in 1952. He was also influenced by Benjamin Britten, as well as by jazz and popular music (this latter influence may have come in part from him working as a night club pianist in the 1950s).

Williamson wrote seven symphonies; four numbered piano concertos (plus the Concerto for Two Pianos and Strings, the Concerto for Two Pianos and Wind Quintet, after Alan Rawsthorne, and the Sinfonia Concertante), concertos for violin, organ, harp and saxophone; and many other orchestral works. He wrote ballets, including Sun Into Darkness and The Display, many effective choral works, chamber music, music for solo piano, and music for film and television including the Prologue and Main Title of Watership Down. His operas include English Eccentrics, to a libretto by Edith Sitwell; Our Man in Havana, after Graham Greene's novel; The Violins of Saint Jacques, from Patrick Leigh Fermor's novel, featuring a volcanic eruption that kills all but one of the principal characters; and Lucky Peter's Journey and The Growing Castle, both of which set plays by August Strindberg. Williamson's music for children includes the operas The Happy Prince (based on the story by Oscar Wilde) and Julius Caesar Jones as well as cassations, which are short operas with audience participation. The cassation The Valley and the Hill was written for the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977 and performed by 18,000 children.

The composer's largest choral work, his Mass of Christ the King, was commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival, also for the 1977 jubilee. It attracted attention partly because Williamson delivered it late. Scored for two sopranos, tenor, baritone, SATB chorus, SATB echo choir, and large orchestra, the work received several performances over a few years, including a live BBC broadcast in 1981, but has more recently been overlooked.

Williamson became generally much less prolific in later life, although he had some very busy years. For example, in 1988 Williamson wrote a large-scale choral-orchestral work The True Endeavour, the orchestral Bicentennial Anthem, the Fanfare of Homage for military band, a ballet Have Steps Will Travel for John Alleyne and the National Ballet of Canada, Ceremony for Oodgeroo (Oodgeroo Noonuccal, formerly known as Kath Walker) for brass quintet, and also commenced work on a substantial new choral-symphony The Dawn is at Hand (to texts by Kath Walker), completed and performed in Australia the following year. Other works include the Requiem for a Tribe Brother (another Australian work, completed in 1992), a third string quartet (1993), a fourth piano concerto (1994) and a symphony for solo harp, Day That I Have Loved (1994). The orchestral song cycle on texts by Iris Murdoch, A Year of Birds, premiered at The Proms in 1995. The same year also saw the premiere of an orchestral work With Proud Thanksgiving, commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, and dedicated to the memory of Williamson's long-time friend, the UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Honours

Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1976, and an honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1987. Honorary awards in the Order of Australia are made only to people who are not citizens of Australia. It is not clear why Williamson did not qualify for a substantive award, as there appears to be nothing on the public record to suggest he ever relinquished his Australian citizenship. The citation for the award read "For service to music and the mentally handicapped".[7] He was the first Master of the Queen's Music in over a century not to be knighted.

Royal works

Main article: List of compositions by Malcolm Williamson
  • The Valley and the Hill (1977), children's pageant
  • Symphony No. 4 - Jubilee (1977), for orchestra. The work (which has never been performed) has three movements:
    • 1. The Birth of the World (Largo)
    • 2. Eagle (Allegro vivo)
    • 3. The Prayer of the Waters (Lento)
  • Jubilee Hymn (1977), for unison choir, SATB choir and orchestra
  • The House of Windsor (1977), score for the TV series (an orchestral suite was extracted in the same year)
  • Mass of Christ the King (1977–1978), for lyric soprano, dramatic soprano, tenor and baritone soli, SATB choir, SATB echo choir and orchestra
  • Lament in Memory of Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1980), for violin solo and string orchestra.
    • Premièred by Leonard Friedman (violin) and the Scottish Baroque Ensemble on 5 May 1980.
  • Ode for Queen Elizabeth (1980), for string orchestra.
    • Premièred by the Scottish Baroque Ensemble at the Palace of Holyrood House on 3 July 1980, in the presence of the Royal Family. Public premiere given also by the Scottish Baroque Ensemble on 25 August 1980 at Hopetoun House in Edinburgh. The work is divided into five sections as follows:
      • 1. Act of Homage
      • 2. Alleluia
      • 3. Ecossaise
      • 4. Majesty in Beauty
      • 5. Scottish Dance
  • Richmond Fanfare (1980), for five trumpets, two tenor trombones, two bass trombones, tuba, percussion and organ
  • Now Is the Singing Day (1981), for soloists, SATB choir, two pianos, percussion and string orchestra
  • Mass of St. Margaret of Scotland (1982), for unison choir and piano or SATB choir and organ
  • Songs for a Royal Baby (1985), for SATB soli/choir and string orchestra

Australian works

Main article: List of compositions by Malcolm Williamson

Although Williamson lived in Britain for most of his life, he travelled widely and maintained a deep affection for his native country. He wrote many works specifically for or about Australia, and frequently set texts by Australian poets, such as James McAuley and Kath Walker. Williamson was also inspired to respond through music to political issues, such as Aboriginal rights (a matter close to his heart). Below is a select list of works with a specifically Australian connection.

  • Symphony No. 1 - Elevamini (1957), for orchestra
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 (1960), for piano and string orchestra
  • Travel Diaries - Sydney (1961), for piano solo
    • A book of relatively easy piano pieces intended for teaching purposes. Sydney Diaries is one of five such books, with the others concerning London, Naples, Paris and New York. Sydney Diaries has thirteen movements:
  • Symphony for Voices (1962), for a cappella SATB choir
    • An elaborate five-movement work, setting texts by the Australian poet James McAuley:
      • 1. Invocation (for unnaccompanied contralto)
      • 2. Terra Australis
      • 3. Jesus
      • 4. Envoi
      • 5. New Guinea
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 (1962), for piano and orchestra
  • I Will Lift Mine Eyes (1970), for unison choir, echo choir and organ
    • Premiered on 3 May 1970 in Sydney
  • Concerto for Two Pianos and String Orchestra (1972), subtitled Double Concerto
    • Premiered by Charles Webb and Wallace Hornibrook (pianos), with the Astra Chamber Orchestra, conducted G. L. Smith in Melbourne in 1972:
      • 1. Allegro ma non troppo
      • 2. Lento
      • 3. Allegro vivo
  • The Musicians of Bremen (1972), for two countertenors, tenor, two baritones and bass voices
  • Adelaide Fanfare (1973), for two trumpets, two horns, 2 trombones, tuba and organ
  • Canberra Fanfare (1973), for two trumpets, two trombones and percussion
  • The Glitter Gang (1974), cassation for audience, choir and orchestra
  • In Thanksgiving - Sir Bernard Heinze (1982), for orchestra
  • Symphony No. 6 - A Liturgy of Homage to the Australian Broadcasting Commission in its Fiftieth Year as University to the Australian Nation (1982), for orchestra
  • Symphony No. 7 - Symphony for Strings (1984), for string orchestra
    • Commissioned to mark the 150th Anniversary of the State of Victoria. Premiered by the Chamber Strings of Melbourne, conducted by Christopher Martin, on 12 August 1985.
  • Lento for Strings (1985), for string orchestra
    • In memory of Australian violinist and conductor, Paul McDermott. Premièred in 1985 by the Philharmonia of Melbourne
  • The Dawn Is At Hand (1988), for SATB choir and orchestra
    • A five-movement choral symphony to poems by Aboriginal poet Kath Walker. Commissioned by the Australian Bicentennial Authority, and premiered by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Brisbane, 1989. The movements are as follows:
      • 1. The Dawn Is At Hand -- Aboriginal Charter of Rights
      • 2. The Curlew Cried -- Dawn Wail for the Dead
      • 3. Assimilation - No!
      • 4. We Are Going
      • 5. United We Win -- A Song of Hope
  • Bicentennial Anthem (1988), for orchestra
    • Commissioned to mark the 200th Anniversary of European settlement of Australia
  • The True Endeavour (1988), for speaker, SATB choir and orchestra
    • Symphonic statement with a text by Australian historian Manning Clark. Commissioned by the Australian Bicentennial Authority, premièred in 1989. The work is divided in seven movements:
      • 1. The Southern Cross above Gondwana
      • 2. Aboriginal Australia
      • 3. Barcarolle of the Disinherited Country
      • 4. The Rainforest: Urban Despoliation
      • 5. Threnody for Murdered Aborigines
      • 6. The Past and the Challenge
      • 7. Mateship: Whitlam's Vision: Makarrata
  • Requiem for a Tribe Brother (1992), for a cappella SATB choir
    • Commissioned by Peter Broadbent and the Joyful Company of Singers, this work was written in memory of one of Williamson's Aboriginal friends who died young from AIDS.
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1993)
    • A one-movement string quartet, lasting approximately 10 minutes. Written for the Australian String Quartet, and premiered by them in Birmingham on 19 February 1994.

Complete works

Main article: List of compositions by Malcolm Williamson
Preceded by
Sir Arthur Bliss		 Master of the Queen's Music
1975–2003		 Succeeded by
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

References

  1. ^ Tim McDonald (2003-03-04). "Obituary: Malcolm Williamson". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/mar/04/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries. Retrieved 2007-09-19. 
  2. ^ "Sir Malcolm Arnold (obituary)". Telegraph. 2006-09-25. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1529701/Sir-Malcolm-Arnold.html. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  3. ^ "Malcolm Williamson (obituary)". Telegraph. 2003-03-03. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1423629/Malcolm-Williamson.html. Retrieved 2007-09-19. 
  4. ^ Roger Lewis (2007-11-08). "Malcolm Williamson in a leopard skin jacket". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/11/08/bomer103.xml. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  5. ^ Lebrecht, Norman (2007-09-19). "Master of no Musick". http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/070919-NL-master.html. Retrieved 2007-09-20 
  6. ^ Campion, Edmund (July/August, 2003). "Writing the language of paradise: Malcolm Williamson". http://www.madonnamagazine.com.au/articles/0308campion.html. Retrieved 2007-09-20 
  7. ^ It's an Honour: AO

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Related answers

When was malcolm williamson born? Read answer...
Why did they call malcolm malcolm x? Read answer...
Bother of malcolm on malcolm in the middle? Read answer...
How old is malcolm in malcolm in the middle? Read answer...

Help us answer these

What is the song in malcolm in the Middle where malcolm is trying to get a Job?
What is the williamson fluid?
Where were malcolm's parents from?
Who is Matt williamson?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Cite
Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more
Cite
Gale Musician Profiles Contemporary Musicians © 1989-2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Cite
Wikipedia on Answers.com This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Malcolm Williamson. Read more

Related answers

What is Malcolm Williamson's birthday?
When did Malcolm Williamson die?
How old is Malcolm Williamson?
How old was Malcolm Williamson at death?
» More

Answer these

How old is malcolms mom in Malcolm from the middle?
Is Will Malcolm Footman and Malcolm X the same person?
How did Malcolm little come to be called Malcolm x?
Malcolm X countries Malcolm x visited?
» more

Featured guides

» More

Mentioned in

Master of the Queen's Music (music)
Red Leaves (Classical Album)
Malcolm Williamson: Third Piano Concerto; Organ Concerto; Sonata for 2 Pianos (Classical Album)
Master of the King's
Peter Darrell (person)
» More