Alan Rowlands Explained

Alan Rowlands (1 March 1929 – 2 January 2012) was an English pianist (though born in Swansea, Wales) who made notable contributions to British musical life both as a teacher and as a performer.[1]

He obtained a degree in chemistry at Jesus College, Oxford, before winning a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music (RCM) under Angus Morrison.[2]

A particular preoccupation of his was the oeuvre of John Ireland. He studied much of Ireland's piano output with the composer himself, who recommended him to undertake a recording of the complete Ireland piano music.[3] Rowlands completed the manuscript of Ireland's Ballade of London Nights, a piano piece composed in 1930. Rowlands first performed it on 6 June 1965.[4]

For much of his life Rowlands taught at the RCM, from which he retired in 1999.[5]

Notes and References

  1. News: Obituary of Alan Rowlands in The Times. 2012-02-17. The Times. 2012-02-17.
  2. News: Obituary of Maria Donska in The Independent. https://web.archive.org/web/20110407064011/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary--maria-donska-1281969.html . 2011-04-07 . limited . live. 1997-01-06. The Independent. London. 2012-02-17.
  3. Book: The John Ireland Companion.. 2011. Boydell Pr. 978-1-84383-686-5.
  4. 'London Nights', Capriccio c3010 (2021) reviewed at MusicWeb International
  5. Web site: Royal College of Music . https://archive.today/20121223063835/http://www.rcm.ac.uk/about/news/alanrowlands.aspx . dead . 23 December 2012 . Royal College of Music . 26 February 2012 .