Timon Altwegg, the pianist on this album, is the legal owner of Freda Swain's manuscripts and is actively working to revive the Swain-Alexander Trust.
Composer Biography
Freda Swain chose to study composition at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford, for whom she held lifelong veneration.
Composer Biography
Freda Swain's compositional output was immense, with some 450 works surviving, covering piano, chamber music, opera, concertos, and orchestral pieces.
Critical Reception
Despite her immense output of some 450 works, Freda Swain's music was largely neglected and even condemned due to her refusal to follow fashionable compositional trends.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Freda Swain actively promoted British music through a series called 'NEMO', with a particular emphasis on supporting women composers and performers.
Compositional Technique
Freda Swain wrote mostly in an austere tonal style, described as 'archaic English late Romanticism,' but occasionally pushed the boundaries of tonality, with a few almost atonal works.
Composer Biography
Freda Swain, the composer, was recognized for her musical talent at an early age, traveling alone for piano lessons in London by age eleven.
