Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 / Harp Concerto, "Lyra Angelica"

Featuring

David Lloyd-Jones
Suzanne Willison
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
William Alwyn

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Composer's Artistic Vision

William Alwyn, like his contemporary Samuel Barber, was an "unashamed Romantic" who preferred his music to appeal to the heart rather than the head.

Composer Biography

William Alwyn, the composer, was appointed Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 21, holding the position for nearly thirty years.

Performer Biography

Suzanne Willison, the harpist on this recording, was a finalist in the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition and won the Outstanding Chamber Music Harpist Award.

Composer Biography

William Alwyn was made a Fellow of the British Film Academy, the only composer ever to have received this honour, in recognition of his services to film.

Composer Biography

William Alwyn contributed nearly two hundred scores for the cinema, starting in 1936 with documentaries and later writing for feature films.

Compositional Technique

Alwyn's Symphony No. 5, 'Hydriotaphia', compresses the traditional four-movement symphony into a short one-movement work with four brief sections, while preserving dramatic contrasts.

Composition History

Lyra Angelica, Alwyn's Harp Concerto, was inspired by his love for 17th-century English metaphysical poets like George Herbert and John Donne, particularly Giles Fletcher's epic poem Christ's Victorie and Triumph.