Alan Rawsthorne | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1905-05-02)2 May 1905 |
| Died | 24 July 1971(1971-07-24) (aged 66) Cambridge, England, UK |
| Spouse(s) | Jessie Hinchcliffe (1934–1954) Isabel Nicholas (1955–1971) (his death) |
Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer. He was born inHaslingden, Lancashire, and is buried inThaxted churchyard inEssex.
Alan Rawsthorne was born in Deardengate House, Haslingden, Lancashire,[1] to Hubert Rawsthorne (1868–1943), a well-off medical doctor, and his wife, Janet Bridge (1877/8–1927).[2] Despite what appears to have been a happy and affectionate family life with his parents and elder sister, Barbara (the only sibling), in beautiful Lancashire countryside, as a boy Rawsthorne suffered from fragile health.[2][3] Although he did at various times attend schools in Southport, much of Rawsthorne's early education came through private tutoring at home.[2] Despite his childhood aptitude for music and literature, Rawsthorne's parents tried to steer him away from his dreams of becoming a professional musician. As a result, he unsuccessfully tried to take on degree courses at Liverpool University, first in dentistry and then architecture. Concerning dentistry, Rawsthorne is on record as having said "I gave that up, thank God, before getting near anyone's mouth", while his friendConstant Lambert quipped "Mr Rawsthorne assures me that he has given up the practice of dentistry, even as a hobby."[4]
In 1925, Rawsthorne was finally able to enroll at theRoyal Manchester College of Music,[5] where his teachers includedFrank Merrick for the piano and Carl Fuchs for the cello. In 1927, Rawsthorne's mother died aged just forty-nine. After graduating from the Royal Manchester College of Music around 1930, Rawsthorne spent the next couple of years pursuing his piano training withEgon Petri atZakopane in Poland, and then briefly also in Berlin.[2]
On his return to England in 1932, Rawsthorne took up a post as pianist and teacher atDartington Hall in Devon, where he became composer-in-residence for the School of Dance and Mime.[6] In 1934, Rawsthorne left for London to try his fortune as a freelance composer. His first real public success arrived four years later with a performance of hisTheme and Variations for Two Violins at the 1938International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) Festival in London. The next year, his large-scaleSymphonic Studies for orchestra was performed in Warsaw, again at the ISCM Festival. The first in a line of completely assured orchestral scores, theSymphonic Studies, which can be heard as aconcerto for orchestra in all but name, rapidly helped Rawsthorne establish himself as a composer possessing a highly distinctive musical voice.([7][8])
Other acclaimed works by Rawsthorne include aviola sonata (1937), twopiano concertos (1939, 1951), anoboe concerto (1947), twoviolin concertos (1948, 1956), a concerto for string orchestra (1949), and theElegy for guitar (1971), a piece written for and completed byJulian Bream after the composer's death. Other works include acello concerto, three acknowledgedstring quartets among other chamber works, and threesymphonies.
Rawsthorne wrote a number offilm scores. His best–known work in this field was the music for the 1953 Britishwar filmThe Cruel Sea,[9] and his other scores included many popular British films, such asThe Captive Heart (1946),School for Secrets (1946),Uncle Silas (1947),Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948),Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951),Where No Vultures Fly (1951),West of Zanzibar (1954),The Man Who Never Was (1956) andFloods of Fear (1958).
Rawsthorne died from pneumonia atAddenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on 24 July 1971.[10]
In 1934, Rawsthorne married his first wife Jessie Hinchcliffe, a violinist in the Philharmonia Orchestra. They separated in 1947 and divorced in 1954.[11] Hinchcliffe went on to marryRené Leibowitz in Paris. In 1955, he marriedIsabel Rawsthorne (née Isabel Nicholas), an artist and model well known in the Paris andSoho art scenes.[12] Her contemporaries includedAndré Derain,Alberto Giacometti,Pablo Picasso andFrancis Bacon. Isabel Rawsthorne was the widow of composerConstant Lambert and stepmother toKit Lambert, manager of the rock groupthe Who, who died in 1981.[13] Alan Rawsthorne was her third husband;Sefton Delmer (a journalist and member of theSpecial Operations Executive during theSecond World War) was her first husband.[12] Isabel died in 1992.
