The Third Symphony is built on an eight-note scale and a four-note figure, leading one critic to describe it as a 'tonal 12-note work'.
Composer Biography
William Alwyn wrote music for nearly 200 documentary and feature films over 25 years, including classics like 'Desert Victory' and 'Odd Man Out'.
Composition History
Alwyn's Symphony No. 5, 'Hydriotaphia', was an Arts Council commission for the 1973 Norwich Triennial Festival and is dedicated to Sir Thomas Browne, whose book inspired its title.
Critical Reception
Alwyn's Third Symphony made little impression at its 1956 premiere, as British musical life was then considered backward-looking, and the symphony was seen as forward-looking.
Composition History
Alwyn's Third Symphony was commissioned by the BBC and dedicated to Richard Howgill, the then controller of music, receiving its premiere in October 1956.
Composer Biography
William Alwyn, the composer, was a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1926 to 1955.
Compositional Technique
Alwyn's Second Symphony is essentially a one-movement composition, similar to Liszt's B minor sonata, deriving all its material from a few initial themes.
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