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William Alwyn (1905-1985)

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cilgwyn
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« on: May 28, 2022, 01:41:41 pm »

Alwyn: Symphonies 2,3 and 5      London Philharmonic Orchestra / William Alwyn       Lyrita



I received this cd only the other day! (Friday,I believe?). This is the first cd I have ever owned of music by this composer! I didn't even have Alwyn on lp! I do remember having a musicassette ,which included his third symphony. Although,I may have borrowed it from a public library? I also remember taping the Fifth Symphony when it was broacast on Radio 3! Unfortunately,his music doesn't seem to have "clicked" or made much of an impression on me. Although,when I listened to the cdr-s,it was Symphony No 3 which made the most impression on me. Anyway,since Alwyn seems to be highly regarded by fans of British music I felt I should rectify this omission. The s/h Lyrita cd's I spotted on Ebay or one of those ubiquitous Seller website's,were inexpensive,and apart from the fact that they are conducted by the composer himself,and I only required two cd's to complete the cycle,I decided to buy them! As to the music itself! I really didn't know until this week, that Alwyn was the most successful British film composer! Although,I knew his score for the classic movie,'Odd Man Out',was highly regarded by some. A very good film indeed! Although,I tend to prefer films that cheer me up! Alwyn's music sounds quite different here than it ever has,on previously listen's! Isn't it surprising what a nice,shiny commercially produced cd with a nice booklet & all the bells and whistles that come with it,can do to a piece of music?! Although,it could be a question of bit-rates?!! Seriously,all I know is that I can now understand why Alwyn's music is so highly regarded in some quarters,and why he would have made such a brilliant composer of film score's. He obviously had a rare talent for orchestration and although these recordings are quite old,the scores obviously benefit hugely from Lyrita's brilliant sound engineering. Indeed,they sound wonderfully vivid here. In short,I'm impressed! And the Lyrita cd of Symphonies 1 & 4 is,currently,in the post! :)
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Vandermolen
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« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2022, 10:18:30 am »

I wrote to Alwyn (c/o Lyrita) when I heard him conduct Symphony No.5 on the radio many years ago. I told him how much I enjoyed the LPs of his symphonies (the ones on Lyrita). He sent a charming reply.
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