“FABULOUS” FOREST OF DREAMS
World Premiere of Chris topher
Painter's new work in Germany
The stage had been set, the press and public informed. The Thüringen
Philharmonic Orchestra was to present the world première of a work by a
composer from Wales .
Maps were got out, to find exactly where Wales
lies and the Chief Conductor of the orchestra, Alun Francis, was asked about
the new work and its Port Talbot born, Cardiff
based composer, Chris topher Painter.
Francis explained that, as part of his life long commitment to living
composers, for which he has received many awards, he decided to study the music
of living Welsh composers and, as a start, decided to invite Painter, who he
had met briefly some years earlier, to compose a new work for the orchestra.
“Wales
has a number of very talented living composers who receive minimum recognition
in our country” explained Troedyrhiw born Francis in impeccable German, “and if
my own country won’t do enough for them, then people like me should”.
Two weeks before the rehearsals and première the music had not arrived,
causing consternation amongst the musicians of the Thüringen Philharmonic,
highly regarded as one of Germany ’s
most disciplined and well trained orchestras under Francis’s leadership.
The music did arrive some six days prior to the first rehearsal and
Francis was soon able to play the whole work from memory on the piano and to go
through the work with the orchestra for the first time.
After the first rehearsal with the composer, Painter and Francis retired
to the first of several press conferences at which the composer was able to
enlighten a very curious press. “The work is not programmatic” insisted
Painter. “It is a work of colours, whispers, strange sounds and unfocused
images. Nothing is outspoken but the mystique of the forest, with all its
secrets, lies behind the inspiration.”
After the press conference Painter and Francis discussed minor changes
to the score; a slight change in orchestration here, a change of dynamics
there, etc.
Many of the orchestra had wondered how the modest and cordial Painter
would get along with the more austere, disciplined Francis, but their working
relationship was sealed from the start.
“He is a consummate professional” remarked Francis, “that is the only
thing that counts for me”.
The next day saw the second rehearsal with the composer standing behind
the conductor, at which the minor changes were given to the orchestra. After
that, came the second press conference, by which time Painter was somewhat awed
by his growing celebrity status.
“Enjoy it” growled Francis “I’ve seen lesser composers thrown to the
wolves”.
On the third day the orchestra went to the City of Suhl , where the first concert was to be given
and Painter was able to hear his work for the first time in the concert hall
and to make any adjustments he wished.
That evening the world première of “Forest of Dreams
“Fabulous Forest
I (the author) was given the job of translating for the composer, and at
the intermission the public, old and young, came in droves to speak to Painter
and to ask him for his autograph.
He was clearly moved by the overwhelming response of both the public and
the orchestra.
At the premiere he took four bows and accepted a huge ovation.
In the local pub after the concert, Francis declared himself
dissatisfied with three details of the work and the next evening in the City of
Gotha , where
the next performance was to take place, he worked yet again to perfect these
points.
All in all that amounted to five rehearsals (four in the presence of the
composer), which Painter wryly remarked would be “unusual” in the U.K.
At the second performance which was also sold out Painter was called to
the platform five times and the work was again received by a hugely appreciative
public and press.
After the concert many of the orchestral players together with Francis
and his wife Bernadette took Christopher and Diana Painter to the local, to
celebrate the success of an unusually gifted and modest composer, as well as
the introduction of Welsh contemporary music to Germany .
“Now that I know this excellent work from memory” remarked Francis, who
is not famous for his compliments, “I will perform it several times in the
coming seasons in different countries as well as other new Welsh works. I can
only hope that my countrymen take note and that they are interested!”
Christina
Schaetz
Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra
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A SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ALUN HODDINOTT
by Christopher Painter, Welsh Music 1999
The choice
of mentor and teacher is a very important matter in the training of a young
composer and I, along with many others, have been extremely fortunate to come
under the influence of Alun Hoddinott. When considering my options for further education,
and having decided to pursue a career in composition, my music teacher
suggested that I should apply to study at University College, Cardiff. “You
should study at Cardiff,” he insisted, “Alun Hoddinott’s there and he’ll be
good for you.” Very prophetic words indeed which began an odyssey that
continues to the present day.
Until
arriving at university the only contact I had had with Alun Hoddinott was
through records and scores of his music and to meet the man in the flesh was a
daunting prospect. My first meeting with Alun was on my very first day at
college and, looking back, I would be surprised if I uttered more than two
words in my initial interview with him. I have to admit to being overawed by
the presence of this man who, aside from his prodigious compositional output,
has done so much for music in Wales.
It was
during my postgraduate years that I came into regular one-to-one contact with
Alun for composition tutorials. His style of teaching was very supportive and,
once I had got over my initial shyness with him, was informal and relaxed.
Lessons were filled with advice, confidence building, constructive criticism
and a wealth of practical examples drawn from Alun’s own experiences. I am
unable to recall any occasions when Alun’s comments were negative or anything
less than encouraging even when, in my opinion, the works shown to him were
less than perfect. When it would have been so easy to pull a work to pieces
Alun’s approach was always to encourage and only to refer to the bad points in
a casual way in a manner that seemed to assume that I already knew that the
passages in question were not all they should be.
As well as
his nurturing style of teaching, Alun has always made an effort to include me
in events that might benefit my development or to introduce me to other
composers and performers. As a student composer it was a marvellous opportunity
to be taken to events such as the Cheltenham Festival and to be introduced to
composers of the stature of Peter Racine Fricker in an atmosphere where one
could talk and ask questions informally. In addition to this, Alun has always
been practically supportive of his students and is always ready to put their
names forward when the opportunity arises. Indeed, my first major commission
came, at Alun’s suggestion, from the much missed and lamented Cardiff Festival
of Music which commissioned my first orchestral work, Gwyl Caerdydd, in 1985.
Alun
Hoddinott started the Cardiff Festival of Contemporary Music (as it then was)
with John Ogdon and it can’t be over-stressed how important this festival was
in the development of musical life in Cardiff. Whilst under Alun’s artistic
direction, the Cardiff Festvial was a vibrant, exciting event that brought a
rich and varied menu of composers, performers and repertoire to the capital. If
one looks back on the programmes for the Cardiff Festival during Alun’s years
of stewardship it is hard to believe the number of first performances that took
place and incredible role call of international performers who came to take
part. One only has to look at the bland programme of predictable concerts that
formed the festival after Alun’s retirement as artistic director to understand
its eventual demise.
As a
student at Cardiff one was doubly blessed by the Cardiff Festival as Alun was
able to persuade some of those taking part in the festival to take part in
events in the music department. It was as a result of this that I was able to
have composition lessons with the American composer, Samuel Adler, head of the
Eastman School, and to take part in a series of conducting seminars with
Stanley Saunders from the University of Guelph, Canada.
Alun didn’t
confine his efforts on behalf of the students to just the period of the
festival. He used his extensive contacts to bring both composers and performers
to the music department to enhance the opportunities of the students. During my
time at Cardiff the composition students were exceptionally priveledged having
lectures and masterclasses from established composers such as George Benjamin
and Robert Simpson as well as from Marek Stachowski, a contemporary of
Lutoslawski who taught at the Warsaw Conservatory.
Since
leaving university, I have kept in contact with Alun and have relied on his
advice and encouragement. In fact, on many occasions it has been his wise words
which have prevented me from giving up and finding a ‘proper’ job. At my lowest
point, when I hadn’t had a commission or performance for almost seven years and
felt unable to finish any work that I started, it was Alun and Rhiannon
Hoddinott, who, over a particularly good dinner, forcefully encouraged me to
carry on and got me writing again. This led to my most productive period so far
and the commissions started to drift in once more.
I have been
even more fortunate over the last ten years to be Alun Hoddinott’s copyist.
This has given me an invaluable insight into both the way that he works and the
incredible workload which he regularly carries. As someone thirty-three years
his junior I often find it very hard to keep pace with him and am continually
surprised by his work-rate. In this, his seventieth year, he has written the
following works :
Celebration
Dances Commissioned by the Cardiff & Vale
Youth Orchestra
5
Bagatelles for Wind Quintet Commissioned by the Fishguard Festival
To the Poet Commissioned by the British Pushkin Trust
Symphony
No.10 Commissioned by the North Wales Music
Festival
Tower A three-act opera commissioned by Opera
Box
In addition
to this, he has attended performances of his music at the BBC Proms, the Welsh
Proms, the Fishguard Festival, the Presteigne Festival and the Ross-on-Wye
Festival. In November, LiveMusic Now will hold a birthday concert for Alun at
The Point in Cardiff and this will be followed by a Hoddinott Festival during
the same month at the Welsh College of Music & Drama, where Alun started
his teaching career as their first full-time lecturer. Other celebrations of
Alun’s seventieth birthday have included a television documentary for BBC Wales
(yet to be broadcast), a radio interview for Radio Wales, the release on
compact discs of his complete violin sonatas and his Second Clarinet Sonata,
and the French premiere of his Sixth Violin Sonata by Elenid Owen at the
British Embassy in Paris during October.
It was
paticularly gratifying for me to be commissioned this year by the National
Youth Orchestra of Wales to write a large-scale work for their 1999 tour to
celebrate Alun’s birthday and to mark his long association with them both as a
founder member and as a composer. It is a mark of his support for his
ex-students that even though he was very unwell and about to go into hospital
for an operation, Alun and Rhiannon (who had flu at the time) made a seventy mile
round trip from their new home in Swansea to Cardiff to attend the St. David’s
Hall performance of Invisible Cities in August.
It is
difficult to say what might have become of my compositional ambitions if I had
not been lucky enough to study with Alun Hoddinott. He, in his self-effacing
way, would probably argue that it does not make much difference in the long run
who one’s teacher is but I do not agree with this. I feel that Alun has had a
great effect on me, both musically and philosophically, although this in no way
implies that my musical style has been submerged by his. To me, Alun’s approach
epitomises the essence of good composition teaching - nurturing a talent and
teaching the craft whilst not imposing one’s style and method on an embryonic
and fragile voice. What is most important in a musical world where the majority
will say that it can’t be done and that no-one wants new music is to have a
rock-like support for whom one has total respect and whose word one can trust.
I have been most fortunate to have this in Alun Hoddinott and for this I will
be eternally grateful.
Music in
Wales, both academic and professional, owes a great deal to Alun Hoddinott in
many ways that cannot be ennumerated in a personal memoir of this type. His
music stands and speaks for itself and I leave it to more in-depth examinations
of the man and his music to reckon up the debt.
Alun
Hoddinott now stands at the pinnacle of a pyramid of active Welsh composers
which he, along with the late William Mathias at Bangor, is mainly responsible
for creating and, which, if given the chance, can equal and better anyone in
the world.
From all of
us who owe you so much, Happy Birthday Alun and best wishes for many more.
---------- | ----------
ALUN
HODDINOTT CBE (1929 – 2008) – MY FRIEND
by Christopher Painter, Furnace of Colours - Remembering Alun Hoddinott 2009
On March 11th
2008[2]
the brightest light in Welsh music was dimmed with the passing, after a long
and difficult illness, of Alun Hoddinott.
I had the great
privilege and pleasure of knowing Alun for over 27 years as his pupil, copyist,
publisher, and, most importantly, friend. He was a kind, gentle, generous man
with an intellect of which I was in awe. He had a heart as big as a house and
truly was, in Peter Pears’ words “a real Father Christmas of a man.” [3]
|
|
I initially met Alun on my very first day at
University (actually my second day as I was so keen I had arrived a day early)
when all new students had an interview with “the Prof.” Having waited my turn,
I finally found myself in the same room as Alun and his presence filled it. We
went through the formalities with Alun telling me who my tutors would be, how
the course was structured and so on. He
then asked me what I thought I might specialise in during my second and third
years as an undergraduate. When I nervously spluttered “Composition” he looked
up, asked me if I was sure and when I replied in the affirmative he said “Good”
and the interview ended.
Undergraduate
life at Cardiff
At Cardiff
The
new Music Department at University College, Cardiff (now the Cardiff University
School of Music), designed by Welsh architect Sir Alex Gordon and opened in
1971 by the Duke of Edinburgh, was very
much Alun’s baby and his influence pervaded every aspect of life there.
During the
1980’s the UCC[5]
Music Department was not only the largest in Europe but was also considered to
be the leading one amongst British universities[6].
It was consistently in the top five European music departments and we should be
grateful that Alun’s loyalty to Wales had prevented him from accepting the
offered professorships at both Cambridge and Manchester.
After completing
my degree I was accepted to study for an M.Mus, specialising in composition.
The main part of this course involved one-to-one composition tutorials and,
much to my amazement and joy, Alun decided to tutor me himself. Studying with
Alun was a tremendous adventure; his teaching style was gentle and nurturing
mixed with relevant anecdotes and much humour. I loved my private time with
Alun and tutorial days were the highlight of my week.
Alun was a very
generous teacher - with his time, his support and his possessions. Alun would
regularly refer me to a composer or work which he felt I should study and this
would be followed by copies of scores and/or recordings from his own
collection. It was during this time that I received my first professional
commission, an overture for the Cardiff Festival[7],
another example of Alun’s generosity and support towards his students.
After completing
my examination I discovered the outcome one day when Alun passed me in the
corridor. “Congratulations, you’ve passed,” he said as if the result had never
been in doubt, “next week we start on your PhD – that’s when the REAL work
begins.”
PhD studies with
Alun were intense and, with no specified course to follow, incredibly
rewarding. Once again, Alun was very generous with his time and support. A
consummate orchestrator, he might spend a session just discussing one small
aspect of instrumentation until we both felt we had it just right. Another time
it might be the dissection of my harmony down to the bare skeleton to expose
the outline of my harmonic plan.
There was never
a bad piece as far as Alun was concerned, simply ones that could be improved. If
I could explain what I had tried to accomplish then that was good enough; the
biggest mistake was not to know why I had done something. Invariably, Alun
would then come up with a much more succinct way of achieving the intended result
whilst giving the impression that I must have known this all along and had
simply preferred to tackle the problem in another way. In this manner, Alun was
continually building up my confidence and encouraging me to explore different
styles and techniques. He once said to me that in his opinion there was no such
thing as a bad composer, just ones who stopped trying.
As part of the
course, I was to submit a supporting thesis on my chosen subject of Britten’s
song-cycles. Alun arranged for me to meet with Peter Pears but, sadly, Pears
passed away before the meeting could take place. I did, however, get to spend
time at the Red House (now home of the Britten-Pears Foundation) and Snape
Maltings[8].
Following this, Alun suggested that I should have a series of consultations
with the Britten scholar, Dr John Evans[9]
(a distinguished Cardiff graduate) who was then Head of Opera at the BBC in
London. Both my tuition fees and travel expenses to London were paid and it was
only much later, through a third party, that I discovered that when the
university authorities had refused to pay for these consultations, Alun had
paid for them himself – he never spoke of it to me, another example of the
man’s generosity.
In 1999 I was
Composer-in-Residence with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and was
commissioned by them to write a work[10]
in honour of Alun’s seventieth birthday. He had been a founder member[11]
of this, the world’s first national youth orchestra and had written several
works[12]
for them in the intervening years. Even though he had just undergone a
debilitating and painful operation due to his diabetes[13]
and could hardly walk as a result (and Rhiannon was suffering from a terrible
bout of ’flu) both Alun and Rhiannon came to St. David’s Hall for the
performance, knowing how important it was to me that they were there.
Alun was very
much a European composer who happened to be Welsh rather than an insular Welsh
composer. Although intensely proud of his Welsh identity he was open to the
wider musical world and encouraged his students to be the same. As a result of
his efforts, composers such as Samuel Adler (Eastman School), Marek Stachowski
(Warsaw), Karlheinz Stockhausen and Robert Simpson came to Cardiff to give
masterclasses to the composition students. In addition, through the Cardiff
Festival, Alun brought many composers and ensembles to the department with the
resulting benefits to students.
The
Cardiff Festival of Contemporary Music, as it then was, was co-founded with
John Ogdon in 1967 and brought, for the first time, composers such as Benjamin
Britten, Olivier Messiaen, Michael Tippett and Peter Racine Fricker to South
Wales. In addition, apart from involving the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra[14]
and the UCC students’ orchestra, the Festival brought professional ensembles,
conductors and performers from all over the world to Cardiff, thus providing an
intensely rewarding experience for the students at the Music Department and to
the concert-going public of South Wales.
The Festival
widened access to the arts in general by involving arts forms other than music
in its programming. As Robin Stowell[15]
has stated – “The Festival also widened
public appreciation of contemporary art and sculpture through its various
exhibitions, whether of works by internationally-renowned John Piper or by
prominent local figures such as John Wright”
Always receptive
to new ideas, Alun acted upon a suggestion of the Festival Chairman, Norman
Lloyd-Edwards[16],
that the Festival should include a Saturday morning concert for children. This
was, in turn, a tremendous success – twenty years ahead of the now accepted
education and outreach programmes. Alun was also very supportive of the South
Glamorgan Youth Choir and their participation in the Advent Carol Concert.
Indeed, in 1984, he wrote the Christmas cantata, The Bells of Paradise, for the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra
& Choir to perform at the St. David’s Hall as part of the Festival[17].
Alun assembled a
very strong team to form the Festival Committee and with them he ran the events
with a seemingly effortless precision that made the Cardiff Festival into one
of the major UK music festivals. The Festival ran for over twenty years, did
much to raise the profile of music, and the arts in general, in South Wales,
created a vibrant cultural atmosphere in the capital and is much missed.
Alun’s approach
to the Festival was very hands on[18]
– I can remember him helping me to carry timpani and move pianos – and one
story told to me by Rhiannon, and confirmed by Alun, perfectly illustrates
this. During one Festival, Rhiannon had stayed home from a concert due to a bad
cold and had gone to bed early. Later that night she heard a commotion
downstairs and upon investigation discovered Alun there with the members of the
orchestra who had performed that evening. It transpired that there had been a
problem with their hotel booking and, there being no other solution, Alun had
invited them all to stay at their house. Thus, in the early hours of the
morning, Rhiannon found herself feeding a gang of hungry musicians who then went
to sleep all around the house[19].
Alun and
Rhiannon Hoddinott’s hospitality is legendary and I first experienced this
whilst still a student when groups of postgraduates would be invited to lunch
or dinner. To be invited to their home was a rare pleasure not just because
they were generous and gracious hosts but also because Rhiannon is a superb
cook and Alun was a wonderful raconteur.
From that time
until the very last time I visited Alun, I couldn’t go to their home without
Rhiannon providing me with either a meal or, at the very least, tea and cake.
Many a happy afternoon or evening was spent discussing whatever Alun was
working on, music in general or current events and listening to Alun and
Rhiannon relate stories from their life together.There were also
darker reminiscences such as Humphrey Searle becoming very withdrawn following
the war, haunted by his experiences as an agent in the Special Operations
Executive and Alun’s great sadness at the fate of his friend John Ogdon[21].
Alun and
Rhiannon were also, at a time when this wasn’t the norm, great travellers and
the tales of their travels in Europe would make as interesting a travelogue as
any. Alun was a great fan of motoring (I remember his Lotus[22]
from my time as a student) and he and Rhiannon would often drive through Europe
during the vacations. The stories of their adventures are legion but included
accounts of how their car had rolled down a ravine in the French Alps and they
were forced to seek shelter at a monastery and how, when taking one of Alun’s
academic colleagues with them to Italy, the hapless, non-Italian speaking, man
had accidentally purchased a house and had to be rescued by Alun.
Alun and Rhiannon
once told me the story of how, on the eve of one of their first camping trips
to France, Alun had loaded their entire luggage onto the roof-rack of their
Mini and then, as if in a 1950’s British film comedy, without thinking drove
the car into their garage, removing the carefully loaded luggage in the
process!
There were, too,
many interesting and amusing stories about half a century of music in Wales and
the personalities involved therein. Alun had been a founding member of the
Guild for the Promotion of Welsh Music (now the Welsh Music Guild) and had
served on the Executive Committee for a number of years, often acting as
liaison between the Guild and the BBC Welsh Orchestra (later the BBC Welsh
Symphony Orchestra and now the BBC National Orchestra of Wales). In this role
he encouraged, on behalf of the Guild, the performance of works by Welsh
composers and also the participation of the Orchestra in the Guild’s annual
Congresses. John Edwards, the founder and driving force behind the Guild, had
spotted Alun’s enormous potential at an early stage and it is fitting that not
only was Alun the first recipient of the John Edwards Memorial Award but that
he, along with Mervyn Burtch[23],
was one of the first recipients of the Fellowship[24]
of the Welsh Music Guild.
Alun was a true
Renaissance man with interests in art and literature coupled with an impeccable
aesthetic sensibility and could speak eloquently on such a wide range of
subjects that it was always a joy to be in his company. I know of no other man
who, when needing to cover an unusually shaped window in his conservatory,
would ask his friend, the painter Tom Nash, to produce an artwork for the spot
rather than simply put up a blind.
Alun’s interests
best came together in his six operas where he could marry his love of
literature, drama and art. Three of these[25]
were to librettos by Myfanwy Piper, who became a lifelong friend and had also
been librettist for Britten’s Death in
Venice; Owen Wingrave and Turn of the Screw. Piper also selected
the verses for A Contemplation Upon
Flowers (1976) which was dedicated to the memory of the composer’s father
and also adapted Flaubert’s text for The
Legend of St. Julian, premiered by the City of London Sinfonia, conducted
by Richard Hickox, at Llandaff Cathedral in 1987. There were also plans for a
further operatic collaboration between Hoddinott and Piper – Le Colonel Chabert, based on an
adaptation of Balzac and another, untitled, opera about the protestant martyr
Rawlings White[26]
(who was executed on the site where Howells Department Store stands in Cardiff
today)[27]
was planned with the Cardiff-born author, John Manchip White.
Alun had a
strong affection for the works of John Piper (Myfanwy’s husband) and owned a
large number of his paintings together with works by Ceri Richards and Kyffin
Williams. These works were never displayed in a self-conscious “look-at-what-we’ve-got”
way but were just part of the fabric of their life. The actor Vincent Price when
asked “What’s it called?” about an
item in his art collection, fired back, “It’s
called WE LIKE IT!” - a sentiment that I’m sure Alun shared. Alun and
Rhiannon’s home, whether in Lisvane or Three Crosses, reflected William
Morris’s doctrine “Have nothing in your
houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” and
simply exuded style and good taste.
A shy and gentle
man, Alun would warm in the company of friends and hours would fly by as if
they were minutes and visitors were never made to feel that they had outstayed
their welcome. In Norman Lloyd Edwards’ words “He enjoyed good food and Rhiannon was a master chef for the many dinner
parties they gave in their home in the course of which Alun's sense of humour
came to the fore and laughter shook the room.”
Closer
to home, the Welsh landscape and nature provided a rich source of inspiration.
Much has already been written about the brooding nature of Alun’s music,
particularly in his trademark nocturnal writing, and this is in no small part a
reaction to his physical surroundings. One clue to Alun’s “night music” may lie
in a story he once told me about his violin lessons when he was a small boy.
When walking to and from his lessons he would have to go through a graveyard,
often in the dark, and that this had conjured up all sorts of images in his
young mind.
When Alun and
Rhiannon moved to Three Crosses (near to Alun’s childhood home in Gowerton)
they fell in love with the Gower landscape and with that of West Wales in
general. Evidence of this are the works Grongar
Hill (setting the poetry of John Dyer of Aberglasney); Promontory of Dreams (setting texts about Gower by Trevor Fishlock)
and Alun’s last vocal work, Towy
Landscape (settings of John Dyer).
Although not necessarily
integral to his work, Alun, like Messiaen, was blessed (or cursed) with colour
synesthesia which links, in the brain, colour to sounds. I have no evidence
that this played any part in his compositions and this might be an interesting
thesis for someone to explore in the future. I do remember Alun telling me of
his cataract operation and how the water washing over his eye had produced a
myriad of colours which in turn had generated sounds in his mind.
Alun’s family was very important to him and his love and pride were always evident. In addition to his devotion to Rhiannon, he doted on his son Ceri and his grandchildren, Lowri and Ruori. I remember him telling me that not long after they moved to Three Crosses, he handed his bank card over at the local garden centre and was asked not “are you Alun Hoddinott, the composer?” but “Mr Hoddinott, are you the father of the surgeon?” [Alun and Rhiannon’s son Ceri is a renowned consultant orthopaedic surgeon] – Alun was particularly proud of that.
Alun’s
prodigious compositional talents are legendary and this personal memoir is not
the place to examine his works in detail. However, in over twenty years of
working as his copyist and publisher I have had a fascinating insight into his
working practices and his thoughts on composition.
Alun had a basic
routine for his work and finished his daily labours in time to have dinner with
Rhiannon – a part of the day that made up for the loneliness of the composer’s
work. Alun worked himself hard and I quite often found it difficult to finish
typesetting the last piece before the next arrived. Work sessions consisted of
discussions regarding work coming up, progress reports on the work in hand and
revisions to works recently completed. As someone who has to concentrate solely
upon the current work in hand, I envied his ability to talk, in depth, about
several different works at the same time.
Alun’s
works were always meticulously worked out with a great deal of pre-composition
before the score was started. He had a high regard for form and structure and
once told me of his admiration for the Sherlock Holmes stories of Conan Doyle
for the meticulous way in which they were constructed. Alun had an innate sense
of instrumental line which was derived from his admiration of the Italian
masters which developed during his early training as a violinist. Indeed, such
was his talent that he could have been a soloist had he not developed stage
fright which ended all thoughts of a playing career [30].
In fact, Alun’s
training as a string player brought him closer to the music of French and
Italian composers and he was not a great admirer of German symphonic music,
preferring the clean instrumental lines and structures of the Italian Baroque
to that of the over-fed Austro-German Romantic period. I well remember his
unprintable comments on Bruckner – something over which we agreed to differ.
Alun’s
attraction to the music of Bartók, Hindemith and
Stravinsky has been noted by several commentators as well as his admiration for
the orchestration technique of Berlioz and Debussy. He held a deep respect for
the music of Britten, Lennox Berkeley and Rawsthorne and was particularly fond
of the works of Henze, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams – something upon which we
were entirely in agreement. Alun did once make the point to me that composers
should not try to imitate the music that they liked to listen to but should
strive to find their own voice and should avoid listening to their favourite
composers during periods surrounding composition.
Having
worked, in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, with conductors and performers of the
stature of Pierre Amoyal, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Adrian Boult, Stuart
Burrows, Osian Ellis, Sir Geraint Evans, Paul Tortellier, and Barry Tuckwell, Alun
was blessed in recent years with the attention of younger Welsh performers who
provided the stimuli for a number of new works. Performers and conductors such
as David Childs[31], Peryn
Clement-Evans, Harvey Davies, Catrin Finch, Alun Francis, Grant Llewellyn, Iwan
Llewellyn Jones, Andrew Matthews-Owen, Gail Pearson, Kathryn Price and Jeremy
Huw Williams (who has almost single-handedly championed Alun’s vocal music in
recent years and was the recipient of the inaugural Sir Geraint Evans Award[32]
in recognition of this) have all taken Alun’s works to new audiences and are to
be commended for their efforts.
I hope that in
2009, what would have been Alun’s 80th birthday year, more
performers, ensembles and festivals will celebrate Alun’s life and music. In
September 2009, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales will premiere Alun’s last
orchestral work, Taliesin, at the
Swansea Festival – preparing the score will be a difficult experience for me
and the performance will be especially poignant. Dare we hope for a tribute at the BBC Proms,
especially as 2009 will be the twentieth anniversary of the first performance
of Star Children, arguably Alun’s
most successful Proms commission? It would be a matter of great regret and even
of resentment if he were overlooked.
Although awarded
a CBE in 1983, it should be a permanent source of shame to the so-called
Establishment that Alun was never awarded the knighthood that he so richly
deserved. If Alun’s work and achievements did not justify such an award then
no-one will ever receive a knighthood purely on merit alone. I’m sure that Alun
never lost a second’s sleep over it but the recognition would have been
well-deserved and many years overdue.
Although I was
aware that Alun’s health was not good and that he was finding it increasingly
difficult to get about, I had no idea that he was quite so unwell. I knew that
he found it very difficult even to come to Cardiff for concerts and that the
effort of coming up for the premiere of La
Serenissima by Helen Field, Jeremy Huw Williams and the BBC NOW on March 1st
2007[33]
had been a great strain upon him.
A fiercely proud
man, I have since discovered that Alun went to great efforts to keep the extent
of his illness private, sometimes taking days to recover from the effort of
appearing well when I had visited him for just a few hours. Such was his and
Rhiannon’s kindness that they still insisted on driving me between the train
station and their home when a transitory problem with my eyesight prevented me
from driving long distances.
I last spoke to
Alun, via the telephone, the day before he was taken ill. We discussed his
impending heart operation and he seemed very positive about it. He was anticipating
regaining his health and was full of plans for revising works and for producing
new versions of existing works. He was looking forward to being at the opening
of BBC Hoddinott Hall, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales new home in Cardiff
Bay, and to the celebrations for his eightieth birthday year.
It is a fitting tribute to Alun that this
building should bear his name for, as Geraint Lewis[34]
has stated “the stimulus of having an
international composer with all his contacts living and working in the city
[Cardiff] spearheaded the gradual efforts by the BBC Welsh Orchestra and Welsh
National Opera (WNO) to develop into full-scale organisations, despite the lack
of adequate buildings.” Perhaps, one day, Welsh National Opera, who now
have their long sought after home at the Wales Millennium Centre, might feel
the need to show their gratitude to the Welsh composer of six operas by
programming one of them.
We talked at
length during that last conversation about our plans for the future and,
fortunately, I took detailed notes of Alun’s thoughts on arrangements,
revisions and new publications. Alun was taken ill the very next day and was
rushed to hospital. After four months in intensive care following a major heart
operation, much of the time conscious but unable to speak because of a
breathing tube, with Rhiannon at his side every day, Alun passed away
peacefully.
A few weeks
before his death the breathing tube had been removed which allowed him to speak
once again. Rhiannon tells me that she asked him how he had occupied himself
for all that time when he couldn’t move or speak – “I’ve been writing music in
my head” was the reply. One can only wonder and lament what those works might
have been. His death was a great shock, not just because of the immense sense
of loss but also because he had always seemed indestructible.
My friend was
laid to rest in a quiet service at Morriston, Swansea surrounded by family and
friends. We sat and remembered the Alun that we had known whilst Huw Tregelles
Williams (former Head of Music at BBC Wales and another graduate of Cardiff)
played Vaughan Williams’ organ prelude Rhosymedre
before giving a very moving eulogy. Stylish and dignified to the last, the
Order of Service simply read – “Alun Hoddinott, Cyfansoddwr.”
Alun’s final words
to me during our last telephone conversation were “We’ll talk again when all
this is over” – I’m afraid that conversation will be further off than either of
us realised but I look forward to it whenever it comes.
Cysga yn dawel
Alun, meus patris musicus, a million
blessings on your head.
[1] The
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce.
[2] Some newspaper reports erroneously give March
12th as the date of Alun’s death.
[3] “...drove back to London next morning,
with a wonderful present from Alun. He is a real Father Christmas of a man, and
Rhiannon is just beautiful: she could start a Trojan war.” - Ed. Philip Reed. Peter Pears. Travel Diaries. 1936-1978.
Aldeburgh Studies in Music 2.The Boydell Press, Suffolk, 1995. p.168
Rhiannon is just beautiful: she could start a Trojan war.” - Ed. Philip Reed. Peter Pears. Travel Diaries. 1936-1978.
Aldeburgh Studies in Music 2.The Boydell Press, Suffolk, 1995. p.168
[4] Under the direction of the incomparable
Clifford Bunford (who will celebrate his 90th birthday in 2009).
[5] University College Cardiff
[6] Alun was personally responsible for appointing
the majority of the staff at Cardiff and many senior academics, both at
Cardiff and other institutions owe their careers to him.
Cardiff and other institutions owe their careers to him.
[7] Gwyl
Caerdydd (Cardiff Festival Overture) (1985).
[8] Attending seminars with Donald Mitchell and
Mervyn Cooke.
[9] Previously Research Scholar at the
Britten-Pears Library, BBC Radio 3 Head of Music (1993) and currently President
and
Executive Director of the Oregon Bach Festival in the United States.
Executive Director of the Oregon Bach Festival in the United States.
[10] Invisible Cities (1999).
[11] In 1945, playing viola. The
conductor was Clarence Raybould (to whom the Variations Op.31 was dedicated.).
[12] Variations Op.31 (1963); Welsh Dances (Second Suite) Op.64 (1969); Sinfonietta No.4 Op.72 No.3 (1971);
Five
Studies for Orchestra Op.107 (1982); Improvisations
on an old Welsh tune (“Braint”) (1987);
Rhapsody on Welsh Tunes (1989)
Rhapsody on Welsh Tunes (1989)
[13] A life-long condition which was
only successfully diagnosed in later life.
[14] Now the BBC National Orchestra
of Wales
[15] Obituary, Western Mail - 15
March 2008
[16] Captain Sir Norman Lloyd-Edwards
KCVO, GCStJ, RD*, RNR
[17] The Bells of Paradise Op.117 – First performance at St. David’s
Hall, Cardiff on December 1 1984 by David Gwesyn
Smith (baritone) and the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Helena Braithwaite.
Smith (baritone) and the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Helena Braithwaite.
[18] Alun was a very practical man,
not afraid to gets his hands dirty. Once, when visiting the house in Lisvane I
could not find
anyone at home save for a workman on the roof. Upon calling up to him, he descended the ladder and I was faced with
Alun, in brown overalls and with a pot of paint in one hand and a brush in the other.
anyone at home save for a workman on the roof. Upon calling up to him, he descended the ladder and I was faced with
Alun, in brown overalls and with a pot of paint in one hand and a brush in the other.
[19] I am unsure as to the identity
of the orchestra, I believe it was the City of London Sinfonia but am unable to
confirm this.
[20] Very appropriately, the second
space at the new BBC Hoddinott Hall is to be called the Grace Williams Studio
[21] In 1973, John Ogdon suffered a
complete breakdown, partly due to overwork but also to subsequently diagnosed
schizophrenia. Following years of hospital treatment, he returned to the concert platform in 1983. He died in 1989
following a bout of pneumonia brought on by undiagnosed diabetes.
schizophrenia. Following years of hospital treatment, he returned to the concert platform in 1983. He died in 1989
following a bout of pneumonia brought on by undiagnosed diabetes.
[22] He had, I believe, owned a Maserati
before this. Unfortunately, both cars proved to be unreliable; the Lotus living
up to its
alternative acronym – Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious – and were replaced by a Range Rover.
alternative acronym – Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious – and were replaced by a Range Rover.
[23] A contemporary of Alun who will
celebrate his 80th birthday in 2009.
[24] Fellowships are rarely awarded
and have only been given to, in addition to Alun and Mervyn, the late Glanville
T. Jones
(past Chairman and President of the Guild) and Professor Ian Parrott.
(past Chairman and President of the Guild) and Professor Ian Parrott.
[25] The Rajah’s Diamond; The
Trumpet Major; and What the Old Man
Does is Always Right
[26] Norman Lloyd Edwards recalls
Alun showing him the finished libretto but there is no evidence of Alun having
started to
compose music for it.
compose music for it.
[27] There was, at least, a third proposed
opera, to be entitled Mabon, about
the Port Talbot-born leader of the South Wales
miners, William 'Mabon' Abraham (1842-1922) but I can’t recall who was to be the librettist.
miners, William 'Mabon' Abraham (1842-1922) but I can’t recall who was to be the librettist.
[28] Badger in the Bag – written in 2004, without a fee, as a gift for
BBC NOW during the composer’s 75th birthday year.
[29] As a result of Rhiannon’s
diligence, there is a vast collection of letters, photographs and other
memorabilia which will be
deposited at the National Library of Wales.
deposited at the National Library of Wales.
[30] Alun did, in fact, give the
first few public performances of Malcolm Arnold’s Viola Sonata
[31] Awarded the first Leo Abse & Cohen Award for his
performance of Alun’s Euphonium Concerto
at the 2004 BBC Proms.
Both Catrin Finch and Peryn Clement-Evans have also received this award for their support of Welsh music.
Both Catrin Finch and Peryn Clement-Evans have also received this award for their support of Welsh music.
[32] Sponsored by Robertsons
Solicitors, Cardiff and presented by the Welsh Music Guild subsequent
recipients include Iwan
Llewellyn Jones and Gail Pearson.
Llewellyn Jones and Gail Pearson.
[33] Alun’s last public appearance
with the Orchestra.
[34] The Guardian, Friday 14 March 2008
I would like to thank Rhiannon Hoddinott for
allowing me access to her collection of photographs and for being so generous
with her time.
I should also like to thank Sir Norman
Lloyd-Edwards; Dr Geraint Stanley Jones; Peter Reynolds, Professor Gareth
Williams, John Lewis and Andrew Matthews-Owen for their invaluable assistance
in checking my text for inaccuracies and omissions.
The
author apologises for any errors or omissions in the acknowledgement of
photographs and quotations.
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