William Alwyn English composer Date of Birth: 07.11.1905 Country: Germany

Biography of William Alwyn

William Alwyn was an English composer, flutist, poet, and artist. He was born in Northampton and showed an interest in music from a young age, starting to play the flute-piccolo. At the age of 15, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied flute and composition.

Alwyn's extraordinary talent as a flutist became evident, and he even found a place in the London Symphony Orchestra. Despite graduating from the academy, Alwyn remained connected to it and taught composition there from 1926 to 1955.

Although Alwyn was skilled in various areas, including poetry and art, he became most renowned for his achievements in music. Throughout his career, he composed five symphonies, four operas, and several concertos. He also ventured into writing film scores and contributed to over 70 different films from 1941 to 1962. Some of his notable works in this field include the soundtracks for "Odd Man Out," "Desert Victory," "Fires Were Started," "The History of Mr Polly," "The Fallen Idol," "The Black Tent," and "The Crimson Pirate."

While not all of Alwyn's compositions have survived, some sketches and finished works can still be found in the William Alwyn Archive at Cambridge University's library.

More recently, Alwyn's works have been published on compact discs, with Philip Lane and Christopher Palmer working on restoring some of his fragmented pieces. In 1998, American figure skater Michelle Kwan performed to Alwyn's harp and string orchestra concerto "Lyra Angelica" at the Winter Olympic Games.

Alwyn lived in Blythburgh, Suffolk, for some time and passed away in Southwold, Suffolk, just two months shy of his 80th birthday.