Malcolm Williamson

:This article is about the composer. For the cryptographer, see Malcolm J. Williamson.

Biography

Williamson was born in Sydney and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Eugene Goossens. In 1950 he moved to London where he worked as an organist, a proofreader, and a nightclub pianist. From 1953 he studied with Elisabeth Lutyens.

Related Topics:
Sydney - Sydney Conservatorium of Music - Eugene Goossens - London - Organist - Nightclub - Elisabeth Lutyens

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Williamson was a very prolific composer at this time, receiving many commissions. He often performed his own works, both on organ and piano.

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In 1975, the death of Sir Arthur Bliss left the title of Master of the Queen's Music vacant. As the pre-eminent British composer of the time, Benjamin Britten was the obvious choice to replace him, but he was very ill, and so, to the surprise of many who expected a better known composer such as Sir Michael Tippett to take the post, the title went to Williamson. Williamson was the first non-Briton to hold the post since the early days of the office.

Related Topics:
Arthur Bliss - Master of the Queen's Music - Benjamin Britten - Michael Tippett

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Although Williamson wrote a number of pieces connected to his royal post early in his tenure, such as Lament in Memory for Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1980), this dropped off for the last twenty years or so of his life. Indeed, his compositional output as a whole slowed considerably due to a series of illnesses. He died in 2003 in a hospital in Cambridge.

Related Topics:
Lord Mountbatten - Cambridge

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