Williamson: Santiago de Espada Overture

Though Malcolm Williamson lived in London for fifty years, many of the titles and first performance venues of his works confirm that he was at heart an Australian: as well as his pieces for Australian Bicentennial Year, 1988, his last two symphonies are both rooted in Australian culture. In 1965, he spoke about his nationality at the Conference on Music and Education in the Commonwealth held at the University of Liverpool, "... when I think about it I am certain that my music is characteristically Australian although I have never tried to make it so. We Australians have to offer the world a persona compounded of forcefulness, brashness, a direct warmth of approach, sincerity which is not ashamed, and more of what the Americans call 'get-up-and-go' than the Americans themselves possess." Indeed, the vigorous ebullience and emotional candour of his writing sets him apart from most other composers active in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century.

Born in Sydney, and a past “Master of the Queen’s Music”, many of Williamson’s works have been somewhat neglected. This is only the second recording of Sinfonia Concertante.