I'm sure list members would like to join me in wishing Many Happy Returns
to Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen's Music since 1975, and one of
the greatest living British composers.

November 21st is the 70th birthday of the Australian-born musician whose
impact on the British music scene in the late 50's and 1960's was very
great.  In the last two decades his music has undergone an eclipse which
is hard to fathom, given the approachability and quality of his work; but
you can't keep a good man down, and the shoots of reawakening interest,
both in Britain and his native Australia, coincide with this major
milestone in his life.

His best operas, pre-eminently "The Violins of Saint-Jacques", are
amongst the greatest of the 20th Century.  His choral and organ music
are (or deserve to be) staples of the repertoire.  His symphonic work is
striking in its breadth of expression and depth of content.  His concertos,
especially those for piano, are a match for any written since the second
World War.  His songs deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as those
of Benjamin Britten for their economy, imagination and focussed musical
content.

Congratulations and thanks to a man whose music has given pleasure and
stimulation to so many, on his 70th Birthday!

Christopher Webber,  Blackheath, London,  UK.
http://www.nashwan.demon.co.uk/zarzuela.htm
"ZARZUELA!"