Exploring William Alwyn's Clarinet Sonata with Stuart King

Composer of over 70 scores for film and TV, former flautist with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst and William Walton, William Alwyn is one of the most under-rated composers of the 20th Century. His prolific output is over-shadowed by the works of Benjamin Britten and perhaps Malcolm Arnold, another composer a degree more famous than Alwyn in his writing for film. This relatively obscurity is a crying shame as Alwyn developed a beguiling musical voice that is dramatically presented in the Clarinet Sonata dating from 1962. Consider that this Sonata was premiered a few months before the Sonata of Francis Poulenc, which is enjoys considerably more fame than Alwyn's Sonata. Both are technically demanding and there are interesting parallels between the two pieces given Alwyn's reverence to the impressionistic piano writing of Debussy and Ravel. 

Join me as I uncover the mystery and exotic fantasy world that Alwyn reveals to us in this 'fantasy sonata' commissioned by my teach Dame Thea King.