Hamilton, Iain (Ellis)

Hamilton, Iain (Ellis) (b Glasgow, 1922; d London, 2000). Scot. composer and pianist. Cl. quintet perf. 1949; 2nd sym. (1951) won Koussevitzky award. Lect., Morley Coll. 1952–9, London Univ. 1955–60. Prof. of mus., Duke Univ., N Car., 1961–78, becoming chairman, mus. dept. 1966–7. Returned to Eng. 1981. Early works showed influences of Bartók and Hindemith, and in the Sinfonia he used serial procedures. Growing interest in vocal and operatic mus. has eased tendency to austerity in his mus. Works incl.:OPERAS: Rondo, 1-act opera buffa; Agamemnon, 2-act (1967–9); Royal Hunt of the Sun, 2-act (1967–9); Pharsalia 1-act (1968); The Catiline Conspiracy (1972–3); Tamburlaine (1976); Anna Karenina (1978); Dick Whittington (1980–1); Lancelot (1982–3); The Tragedy of Macbeth (1990).BALLET: Clerk Saunders (1951).ORCH.: Variations for str. (1948); syms.: No.1 (1950), No.2 (1951), No.3 (Spring) (1981), No.4 in B (1981); concs.: cl. (1950); pf. No.1 (1949), No.2 (1960 rev. 1967); vn. No.1 (1952), No.2 (Amphion) (1971); jazz tpt. (1958); org. (1964); Sinfonia Concertante, vn., va., orch. (1950); Sinfonia, 2 orch. (1958–9); Circus, 2 tpt., orch. (1969); Voyage, hn., orch. (1970); Commedia: Concerto for Orch. (1972–3); The Alexandrian Sequence, chamber orch. (1976).VOCAL & CHORAL: The Bermudas for bar., ch., and orch. (1956); Nocturnal, 11 solo vv. (1959); Dialogues, coloratura sop., small orch. (1965); Epitaph For This World and Time, 3 ch., 3 org. (1970); Te Deum; The Descent of the Celestial City, vv., org. (1972); The Golden Sequence, ch., org. (1973); To Columbus, ch., brass, perc. (1975); Cleopatra, dramatic scene, sop., orch. (1978); Requiem, unacc. ch. (1979); Mass in A, unacc. ch. (1980); Vespers, ch., 2 pf., hp., perc. (1980); The Morning Watch, ch., 10 winds (1981); St Mark Passion, SATB soloists, ch., orch. (1982).CHAMBER MUSIC: str. qt. (1949), 2nd str. qt. (1965); cl. quintet No.1 (1948), No.2 (Sea Music) (1974); sonatas: va. (1951), cl. (1954), vc. No.1 (1958), No.2 (1974), fl. (1966), 3 winds (1966); octet for str. (1954); Hyperion, pf., cl., hn., vn., vc. (1977); Spirits of the Air, bass tb. (1977); octet (1983–4).PIANO: sonata No.1 (1951 rev. 1971), No.2 (1973), No.3 (1978); 3 Pieces (1955); Nocturnes with cadenzas (1963); Palinodes (1972).