For the inventor of the i-Limb prosthetic hand, see David Gow.
David Godfrey Gow (6 April 1924 – 23 February 1993) was an English composer (of Scottish descent) and teacher.[1]
Lifeedit
Gow was born in London. His ancestors included the 18th Century Scottish fiddler Niel Gow and his son Nathaniel (a connection he acknowledged in his Six Diversions on an Ancestral Theme).[2] He studied at the Royal College of Music with Gordon Jacob and Frank Merrick, where he gained his first recognition as a composer, winning the Clements Prize with his Clarinet Quintet (1945). He then took further composition lessons with Alan Bush and an M Mus degree at Durham University. He began regular composition in the 1950s, but later disowned many of his early works.[1]
After a period teaching further education evening classes in London, Gow was appointed music lecturer at Swindon Technical College in 1962. He stayed on there until retirement. He also lectured at Bristol University, and from 1969 was closely involved with music courses for the Open University, and a regular at the University's Summer School music courses at Warwick and Cardiff.[2]
Gow lived with his wife Margaret in Axford, Wiltshire, later moving to Aldbourne. He died in 1993 at the age of 68 after eight years of poor health, through which he continued to compose.[3]
Musicedit
Gow described the style of his music as "serialism tempered by tonality", but he was always careful not to make unreasonable demands on performers.[2] He composed nine string quartets (spanning the years 1946 to 1990) and from 1984 (starting at the String Quartet No 4) established a close association with the Maggini Quartet.[4] His Quartet for flute, oboe, violoncello and harpsichord, Op. 28, won the Hans Oppenheimer Prize of the Saltire Society in 1967. He wrote many concertos, including the Piano Concerto for Philip Martin in 1980, the Cello Concerto for Timothy Hugh, and a Marimba Concerto for Evelyn Glennie, completed just before his death.[5] His solo piano works include Twelve Preludes and a Postlude (1979) and two piano sonatas (1984 for Philip Martin and 1990 for Eric Parkin).[2]
There are also songs and song cycles (such as Fifteen Faces of Love, 1982)[6] and choral works such as Ave Maris Stella, which has been recorded.[7] Gow worked closely with the BBC Northern Singers and their conductor Stephen Wilkinson, who gave the first performances and broadcasts of his cantatas The Wreck of the Deutschland (1971, setting Gerard Manley Hopkins),[8]Little Cantata to the Stars (1974), Walden (1984), and Star Gazers (1990).[9][10] Orchestral works include a nine minute long Mini Symphony written for the Hounslow Youth Orchestra in 1968, the Overture One-Two-Five (1978) commissioned by British Rail and used as the soundtrack for a short documentary film produced by British Transport Films,[11] and the Symphony No 3 Wessex Heights, written in 1990 to commemorate 150 years since the birth of Thomas Hardy.[3][12]
Referencesedit
^ abGraham Melville Mason. Obituary, The Independent, 1 March 1993
^Overture One-Two-Five (1978), British Film Institute
^The Hardy Review, Volume XVI-i, Spring 2014, pp. 29-45
External linksedit
Overture One-Two-Five (1978), British Film Institute
David Gow. Piper Publications
January 01, 1970
david, composer, inventor, limb, prosthetic, hand, david, david, godfrey, april, 1924, february, 1993, english, composer, scottish, descent, teacher, life, editgow, born, london, ancestors, included, 18th, century, scottish, fiddler, niel, nathaniel, connectio. For the inventor of the i Limb prosthetic hand see David Gow David Godfrey Gow 6 April 1924 23 February 1993 was an English composer of Scottish descent and teacher 1 Life editGow was born in London His ancestors included the 18th Century Scottish fiddler Niel Gow and his son Nathaniel a connection he acknowledged in his Six Diversions on an Ancestral Theme 2 He studied at the Royal College of Music with Gordon Jacob and Frank Merrick where he gained his first recognition as a composer winning the Clements Prize with his Clarinet Quintet 1945 He then took further composition lessons with Alan Bush and an M Mus degree at Durham University He began regular composition in the 1950s but later disowned many of his early works 1 After a period teaching further education evening classes in London Gow was appointed music lecturer at Swindon Technical College in 1962 He stayed on there until retirement He also lectured at Bristol University and from 1969 was closely involved with music courses for the Open University and a regular at the University s Summer School music courses at Warwick and Cardiff 2 Gow lived with his wife Margaret in Axford Wiltshire later moving to Aldbourne He died in 1993 at the age of 68 after eight years of poor health through which he continued to compose 3 Music editGow described the style of his music as serialism tempered by tonality but he was always careful not to make unreasonable demands on performers 2 He composed nine string quartets spanning the years 1946 to 1990 and from 1984 starting at the String Quartet No 4 established a close association with the Maggini Quartet 4 His Quartet for flute oboe violoncello and harpsichord Op 28 won the Hans Oppenheimer Prize of the Saltire Society in 1967 He wrote many concertos including the Piano Concerto for Philip Martin in 1980 the Cello Concerto for Timothy Hugh and a Marimba Concerto for Evelyn Glennie completed just before his death 5 His solo piano works include Twelve Preludes and a Postlude 1979 and two piano sonatas 1984 for Philip Martin and 1990 for Eric Parkin 2 There are also songs and song cycles such as Fifteen Faces of Love 1982 6 and choral works such as Ave Maris Stella which has been recorded 7 Gow worked closely with the BBC Northern Singers and their conductor Stephen Wilkinson who gave the first performances and broadcasts of his cantatas The Wreck of the Deutschland 1971 setting Gerard Manley Hopkins 8 Little Cantata to the Stars 1974 Walden 1984 and Star Gazers 1990 9 10 Orchestral works include a nine minute long Mini Symphony written for the Hounslow Youth Orchestra in 1968 the Overture One Two Five 1978 commissioned by British Rail and used as the soundtrack for a short documentary film produced by British Transport Films 11 and the Symphony No 3 Wessex Heights written in 1990 to commemorate 150 years since the birth of Thomas Hardy 3 12 References edit a b Graham Melville Mason Obituary The Independent 1 March 1993 a b c d David Gow British Music Collection a b Obituary The Guardian 27 February 1993 Radio Times Issue 3463 28 April 1990 York Guildhall Orchestra Radio Times Issue 3463 28 April 1990 Sing We Merrily The Chapel Choir of Glasgow University Gemini GM2022 1973 Radio Times Issue 2509 11 December 1971 Radio Times Issue 3476 28 July 1990 Obituary The Times 5 March 1993 p 19 Overture One Two Five 1978 British Film Institute The Hardy Review Volume XVI i Spring 2014 pp 29 45External links editOverture One Two Five 1978 British Film Institute David Gow Piper Publications Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Gow composer amp oldid 1189157351, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
