MALCOLM WILLIAMSON: The uncompromising and divisive Master of the Queen’s Music
Once one of the most widely performed composers of his generation, Malcolm Williamson’s music has since fallen into obscurity. This new recording – featuring 16 world premieres — seeks to redress that balance, offering a fresh perspective on a composer whose work defied easy categorization.
Williamson’s output ranged from bold serial explorations to tuneful lyricism, often within the same piece. His music was lauded for its ingenuity yet suffered from the composer’s refusal to conform to prevailing academic tastes. As Master of the Queen’s Music, he occupied a prestigious position but remained a divisive figure—uncompromising in his artistic voice and unpredictable in both temperament and style.
Drawn from recently uncovered archives, this collection spans nearly five decades of Williamson’s career, from early student works to some of his final compositions. The album includes the Clarinet Trio (1958), a strikingly assured work praised for its “forthright tunefulness” and loose application of serial technique, and the Concerto for Wind Quintet and Two Pianos, Eight Hands (1966), an intricate, often densely chromatic score performed by an extraordinary ensemble of composer-pianists. Other highlights include the ballet-inspired Pas de Quatre (1967), the haunting Pietà (1973) for mezzo-soprano and ensemble—setting texts by Swedish poet Pär Lagerkvist—and the enigmatic Gallery (1966), a set of miniature pieces likely composed for an unknown television project.
These performances, led by pianist and producer Antony Gray, bring Williamson’s music vividly to life, illuminating its rhythmic dynamism, harmonic inventiveness, and sheer expressive range. With the discovery of the Williamson archive in 2023, this recording marks an important step in reintroducing a composer whose legacy deserves reappraisal.
