George Selwyn English (16 September 1912 – 8 October 1980)
[John Carmody. ]
English, George Selwyn (1912–1980)
' / Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996 was an Australian composer. Like
Roy Agnew and
Raymond Hanson, he was overshadowed by the Australian ''avant-garde'' of the 1960s.
Life
English was born in Sydney,
his parents being
George Philip John Engisch (later English), a tenor, conductor and late-Romantic composer, and Marjorie Blanche, née Hodgson (they divorced in 1929).
He was educated at
Malvern Church of England Grammar and Melbourne High schools. Initial music education was provided by his father, but partly it was due to the boy's own efforts, as after the divorce his mother vetoed proper training.
In 1935–1939 he resided in Britain, studying in libraries, attending concerts and working as music critic. He was also the founder and editor of the ''British Motorist'' magazine.
In 1939 English returned to Sydney and worked for Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd. On 14 July 1942 he was enlisted in the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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, but was soon (23 December) discharged on medical grounds.
He worked as a critic for Sydney newspapers, then became chief editor for ''W. H. Paling & Co. Ltd.'' (musical publishers). At the same time he was composing and arranging music, especially for theatre, radio and films (this is what he is remembered today for).
While not a first-rate composer, English was very active in music politics. His posts included:
* founding president (1960) of the
Fellowship of Australian Composers (later secretary and a long-time councillor)
* 'writer member' (1961–68) of the board of the
Australasian Performing Right Association
* editor (1969–78) of the journal of the Australasian Performing Right Association
In 1961 he began to campaign for a musical counterpart of the Commonwealth Literary Fund and led in 1965 a delegation to meet Prime Minister
Harold Holt and eventually made some success in 1967, when the
Commonwealth Assistance to Australian Composers Advisory Board was established.
He died of cancer in
Mosman
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
, aged 68, and was buried in Northern Suburbs cemetery.
Family
On 19 December 1936 English married Clare Rosina Henkes in
Hampstead. This marriage gave birth to a son and a daughter. They divorced 40 years later (1975), and he married at
Cremorne Marcia Clement Rose, an advertising executive.
Compositions and style
English wrote music to a movie ''Alice through the Centre'' (1950), which was followed by a documentary ''The Australian Dingo'' (1958), a radio ''Death of a Wombat'' (it won a
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
in 1959) and ''The First Waratah'' (1972).
His most notable serious compositions were created in 1960s: the overture ''Botany Bay 1770'' (1960), ''Chiaroscuro'' for string trio (1966), a String Quartet (1966, inedited)
[Catalogue entry](_blank)
at The University of Melbourne. and a Wind Quintet (1969). He also wrote at least two symphonies: an undated in A minor and a ''Sinfonia'' (1947 or 1967).
English's style was a tempered version of the English 1920s–1930s modernism. He was a skilled composer, though with limited imagination. Compositions written after the ''Chiaroscuro'' show 'a cautious acceptance of the principles of serialism'.
A selective list of compositions
*Symphony in A minor (undated)
*''Sinfonia'' (1947) for string orchestra
*''For a Royal Occasion'' (1952), overture for full orchestra
*''Song for a Crowning'' (1953), text by
Elizabeth Riddell
Elizabeth Riddell (21 March 1910 – 3 July 1998) was an Australian poet and journalist.
Life
Born in Napier, New Zealand, Elizabeth Richmond Riddell came to Australia in 1928 where she worked at ''Smith's Weekly'' and won a Walkley Award.
She ...
*''The Australian Dingo'' (1958), documentary film score
*''Death of a Wombat'' (1959) for narrator and 10 instruments
(won the ''
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...
''),
arranged as a miniature piano suite (Theme – Nocturne – Threnody)
*''Botany Bay 1770'' (1960), overture
*''Chiaroscuro'' (1966) for string trio
*String Quartet (1966, inedited)
*Wind Quintet (1969)
*''Alfresco'' miniature suite (pub. 1969), for 3 recorders (Pastorale – Wayfarers – Shepherd's song)
*''The First Waratah'' for narrator, wind quintet and percussion (1972)
*''Power with precision'', documentary film score
*''All manner of trains'', documentary film score
*''Yulunga'' for chamber orchestra
*''Myuna Moon'' for chamber orchestra
*''The Young Mozart'', simple suite for piano (pub. 1956)
*''Fantasia'' for orchestra
*''Coach and horses'' for orchestra
*''All school's songbook'' for unison and 2-part voices and piano
Catalogue entry
at The National Library of Australia.
Recordings
* (LP, mono, 1961) English: The Death of a Wombat; Robert Hughes: Sinfonietta. – Sydney Symphony Orchestra, cond. English (1) and Nicolai Malko
Nicolai Andreyevich Malko (russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Малько́, ua, Микола Андрійович Малько; 4 May 188323 June 1961) was a Russian-born American symphonic conductor.
Biography
Malko was born in ...
(2). – RC
L16233
References
Sources
* John Carmody.
English, George Selwyn (1912–1980)
' / Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996
External links
The Death of a Wombat
on YouTube, performed by The Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the composer, narrated by Alastair Duncan (rec. ca.1961)
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, George Selwyn
1912 births
1980 deaths
Australian composers
Prix Italia winners