Alan Richardson (composer)


Alan Richardson was a Scottish pianist and composer.

Biography

Richardson was born in Edinburgh, where he worked for some time as a pianist for the BBC before going to London to study piano and composition, from 1929 to 1930, with Harold Craxton at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1931 he undertook a concert tour of Australia and New Zealand. He was accompanist for violinist Carl Flesch from 1936 to 1939. Richardson married renowned oboist Janet Craxton, the daughter of his teacher Harold Craxton, in 1961. He was appointed Professor of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music in 1960, a position he held until his death in 1978.
Richardson composed many pieces for piano, as well as some chamber music, including several works for the oboe which he wrote for his wife. He made a recording of his Sussex Lullaby with the viola player Watson Forbes and also dedicated his brief Intrada for viola and piano to Forbes.
Richardson died, aged 74, in London.

Selected works

;Vocal musicAnimal Nursery Rhymes, for 2 voices and piano
;Chamber musicRoundelay for oboe and piano Bagatelle for violin and piano Sonnet for violin and piano Sussex Lullaby for viola and piano Intrada for viola and piano Prelude in A and Gavotte in A from Solo Violin Partita in E by Johann Sebastian Bach for viola and piano
  • Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 21 Autumn Sketches for viola and piano French Suite for oboe and piano
  • Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano 3 Pieces for English horn and piano, Op. 22 2 Scottish Tunes for viola and piano ; arranged by Watson Forbes and Alan Richardson' for oboe and piano, Op. 23 Silhouette for violin and piano, Op. 24 3 Pieces for flute and oboe Aria and Allegretto for oboe and piano
  • Sonatina for oboe and piano, Op. 51
  • Sonata for bassoon and piano 3 Pieces for oboe, viola and piano 3 Inventions for flute and oboe
  • Sonatina for flute and piano Trio Sonata for viola, bass clarinet and piano In the Lowlands for tuba and piano Rhapsody for viola and piano
  • Sonatina for 2 oboes 3 Pieces for solo oboe Duo for violin and viola3 Old French Dances for oboe and piano
;PianoVariations for piano Three pieces for piano Rondo "The Non-Stop" for piano Seguidilla from "Carmen" for piano Piano piece No.1 Piano piece No.2 Minuet for piano Moto perpetuo for piano The Dreaming Spires, Rondel Pavane on a 16th Century Tune Improvisation on a Nursery Tune in G major for piano 4-hands Bagatelle Clorinda Débutante for 2 pianos Grandmother's Waltz in D major for 2 pianos On Heather Hill for 2 pianos Rondo The Wayfarer Jack in the Green 5 Short Pieces Transcription: Rachmaninoff Op. 34 no.14 Vocalise for Piano Solo The Gentle Breeze 4 Romantic Studies, Op. 25
  • Sonata, Op. 26 Sonatina in F, Op. 27 2 Short Impromptus, Op. 28
  • ', Op. 29 Suite in D, 5 Pieces, Op. 38 2 Nocturnes, Op. 30 4 Character Sketches, Op. 31 The Clydesdale Party, Scottish Dance Columbine Over the Moors Prelude in B Flat 2 Country Pictures, Op. 34 The Running Brook Across the Border Alla Marcia Make Believe The Pendulum, Modern Festival Pieces 3 Pieces, Op. 35 Rhapsody, Op. 37 Scallywag Canzonetta
  • ''4 Pieces''