When American classical music lovers think of twentieth century English music, what composers do they think of? Elgar? Certainly. Holst? Surely. Vaughan Williams? Probably. Britten? Possibly. Walton? Maybe. Arnold? Unlikely. Alwyn? Less likely. And Alan Rawsthorne? Highly unlikely. Why? Because Rawsthorne's music is rarely performed and recorded. Why? Because Rawsthorne might be best characterized as a less interesting Hindemith. The same lean, linear textures, the same astringent tonal harmonies, the same close attention ...
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When American classical music lovers think of twentieth century English music, what composers do they think of? Elgar? Certainly. Holst? Surely. Vaughan Williams? Probably. Britten? Possibly. Walton? Maybe. Arnold? Unlikely. Alwyn? Less likely. And Alan Rawsthorne? Highly unlikely. Why? Because Rawsthorne's music is rarely performed and recorded. Why? Because Rawsthorne might be best characterized as a less interesting Hindemith. The same lean, linear textures, the same astringent tonal harmonies, the same close attention to detail and design -- these qualities are no less present in Rawsthorne's music than they are in Hindemith's, but more in the manner of the less extravagant and more circumspect later Hindemith than the less restrained and more interesting earlier Hindemith.In this 2006 Naxos recording by the England's Maggini Quartet, Rawsthorne's three string quartets are given more than convincing if less than compelling performances. The Maggini is as clearly up to the music's technical...
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