Haydn Wood
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Haydn Wood (March 25, 1882–March 11, 1959) was a 20th century English composer and a respected violinist.
[edit] Life
Haydn Wood was born in the Yorkshire town of Slaithwaite on March 25, 1882. At aged two his family moved to the Isle of Man, an island which was often a source of inspiration for the composer. At aged 15, he went to study the violin with Enrique Fernandez Arbos and composition with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music.
From 1913 to 1926, he toured extensively with the soprano Dorothy Court, whom he married in 1909. He also gained considerable success from his works, particularly his songs. From 1939, he served as a director of the Performing Right Society.
On the occasion of his 70th birthday he was given a full concert dedicated to his music by the BBC. He died in a London nursing home on March 11, 1959, two weeks before his 77th birthday.
[edit] Works
Haydn Wood was a prolific composer of orchestral music, including 15 suites, 9 rhapsodies, 8 overtures, 3 concertante pieces and nearly 50 other assorted works, including 180 individual songs.
His orchestral pieces were primarily of the "light music" style; a well known piece of his is the three-movement Fantasy-Concerto. Another is his London Landmarks Suite, particularly "Horse Guards, Whitehall". In 1916, he composed the popular song "Roses of Picardy" for his wife. After a time writing popular music, Wood began to write musical comedy; his best-known piece of this genre is the musical play Tina.
The tone poem Mannin Veen (Manx for "Dear Isle of Man") was based on four Manx folk tunes, and is one of two works written originally for wind band by Wood.
