Raymond (Charles) Hanson AM (23 November 19136 December 1976) was an Australian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and lecturer in composition at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music now known as the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

. A highly regarded teacher and mentor to many prominent Australian musicians, such as

Don Burrows Donald Vernon Burrows (8 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was an Australian jazz and swing musician who played clarinet, saxophone and flute. Life and career Donald Vernon Burrows was born on 8 August 1928, the only child of Vernon and Beryl an ...

, Larry Sitsky and

Roger Woodward Roger Robert Woodward (born 20 December 1942) is an Australian classical pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and human rights activist. He is widely regarded as a leading advocate of contemporary music. Early life Roger Woodward was born ...

, Hanson himself was largely self-taught. As a composer, Hanson was not a follower of prevailing trends, and consequently his music was unfashionable and ignored by many other composers. Late in life however, his distinctive personal style began to receive greater recognition, and since his death his work has been held in high esteem by some critics.

Early years

Hanson was born in the Sydney suburb of Burwood on 23 November 1913, the youngest of five children to Australian-born

railroad engineer A train driver is a person who operates a train, railcar, or other rail transport vehicle. The driver is in charge of and is responsible for the mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all of the train handling (also known as bra ...

William Hanson, and his English-born wife Lilian, née Bennett. The marriage broke up when Hanson was quite young. Hanson was sickly as a child, suffering from

bronchial A bronchus ( ; : bronchi, ) is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts Atmosphere of Earth, air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi to branch from the trachea at the Carina of trachea, carina are the right main b ...

complaints and a recurring ear infection that left him almost deaf in his left ear. He began experimenting in musical composition from the age of eight, inspired by his older sister's piano practice. Hanson's mother brought him up as a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, and though he later left the faith he retained a lifelong interest in

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. Hanson attended Burwood Public and

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

s, but left before completing his third year. He continued however to pursue piano lessons, aided by teacher Anne Spillane who kindly provided him with free lessons as his family was too poor to pay for them. He was thereby eventually able, in 1930 at the age of seventeen, to gain the Licentiate (piano) of the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

. From 1930 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he made a living by teaching piano and by working in a variety of menial jobs. Hanson was able to give a number of recitals of his own compositions in the late 1930s, and had the opportunity to gain some formal training in composition after being awarded the Gordon Vickers Scholarship at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. Unfortunately, his Conservatorium studies would last only two months before the war interrupted them. He joined the Army in 1941, eventually rising to the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the Army Education Service. During the war he was exposed to, and developed a lasting interest in,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

music, an interest that would come to have some influence on his own work. He left the Army in 1946.Australian Dictionary of Biography Online.

Teaching career

As the recipient of a Fellowship in Composition, Hanson after the war was able to resume his studies at the Conservatorium. Following a year of study which he undertook with Alex Burnard, the Conservatorium offered Hanson a place on the staff, and this he accepted. He became a teacher of Aural Training, in which he was considered something of an innovator, and later a lecturer in

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and Composition,

Counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

and

Aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

of Music. He was also active in curriculum development and assisted in the introduction of the Bachelor of Music Education degree. As a teacher, Hanson was noted for a kind, thoughtful and unpretentious manner, which was appreciated by students, while his abilities and dedication were greatly respected. He became a teacher and mentor to many future Australian composers and musicians, such as

Nigel Butterley Nigel Henry Cockburn Butterley (13 May 1935 – 19 February 2022) was an Australian composer and pianist. Life and career Butterley was born in Sydney and learned to play the piano at the age of five. He attended Sydney Grammar School, but mus ...

Richard Meale Richard Graham Meale, Member of the Order of Australia, AM Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE Australian Academy of the Humanities, FAHA (24 August 193223 November 2009) was a highly-regarded Australian composer of instrumental works ...

and

Barry Conyngham Barry Ernest Conyngham (born 27 August 1944) is an Australian composer and academic. He has over 70 published works and over 30 recordings featuring his compositions, and his works have been premiered or performed in Australia, Japan, North and ...

, as well as to noted performers such as jazz clarinettist

and piano

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

. In addition to his work at the Conservatorium, he also gave private lessons, which not infrequently ended in long discussions about philosophy or politics.

Political activity

Hanson himself became active in political matters when, in the early 1950s, he joined the Australian Cultural Defence Movement which sought to protect Australian culture from being swamped by foreign influences, particularly the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

. In the prevailing mood of the times however, the movement was painted as leftist and pro-

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, and quickly crumbled. Hanson believed that his association with this movement, along with his membership in the Australian-Soviet Friendship Society, was one of the factors that held back his professional career.

Music

While his teaching abilities were widely acknowledged, Hanson struggled to gain recognition for his talents as a composer for much of his career, as his music was often unpopular with the audience at that time and also unfashionable. He was fifty-four years old before receiving his first commission for a piece of music,Australian Music Centre. and many of his works lay unperformed for many decades. One champion of his music was the pianist Igor Hmelnitsky, who was also on the faculty at the Conservatorium. Part of the problem lay with his independence of mind. Hanson ignored prevailing trends in the pursuit of his own

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

. In the 1940s and 1950s, his work was regarded by his Australian contemporaries as too

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

, but by the 1960s it was being dismissed as not avant-garde enough. Hanson's rejection of

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

, responsible for the latter dismissal, was ultimately vindicated by history, but this vindication came late in his career. In 1971 he won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award.

Style

Hanson's unique qualities as a composer were noticed early by English critic

Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...

, who perceived, after attending a concert featuring Hanson's works in 1941, "an originality that avoided Anglocentrism".New Grove Dictionary. His music has also been described as "of a style not usually associated with Australian composition". Hanson himself eschewed the notion of a uniquely "Australian" style, but some have nevertheless heard an "unmistakeable" influence of the Australian landscape in his works.Sitsky & Martin. Others, by contrast, have detected traces of English pastoralism. Particularly crucial to Hanson were the compositions and the pedagogic theories of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

("I still think Hindemith has the answers to so many things ... If you want to be incomprehensible, go and get it. I don't"). Another figure who had a powerful impact on Hanson's philosophy was the Indian poet and musician

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. Hanson's deep spirituality (he once considered becoming a missionary to India) played a notable part in his creative outlook. His appreciation of

is apparent in the sense of spontaneity and rhythmic fluidity that he strove to bring to his own pieces. He had a gift for

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

and often composed directly at the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

. Technically speaking, Hanson rejected serialism with its rigid rules of development, but retained a fascination with the twelve-note scale and its full potentialities. This should not be taken to indicate, however, that he disdained melody. On the contrary, he has been described as "a lyrical composer who thought naturally in evolving lines".

Personal life

On 15 September 1956, Hanson at the age of 43 married a 23-year-old Conservatorium student, Moira Winifred Young, at St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Manly. The marriage was a very happy union despite the unconventionality of the age difference. The couple moved house several times over the next few years as prior to Hanson being placed on salary all teaching staff at the Con were contract players. Hanson's health deteriorated and in 1967 he suffered a heart attack. Young died in 1975, and after being appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in January 1976, Hanson himself died of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

later that year, on 6 December. The couple were survived by three daughters. During his life, Hanson sometimes commented on his pride in being born within 24 hours of the birth of his musical hero

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

."Composer gets a fresh hearing"
by Vincent Plush, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', 22 November 2012 His death, also, came only two days after Britten's.

Works

Hanson left behind over 100 major works, including a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, four

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s, a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s, chamber works and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

music. He also wrote film, television and radio scores, as well as

music and

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s. More notable works include his 1948 ''Trumpet Concerto'', released worldwide on the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

label, the technically demanding ''Piano Sonata'' (composed between 1938 and 1941, and reflecting his feelings about the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

), the piano ''Preludes'', and his ''Violin Concerto''. Hanson also set many of Tagore's poems to music, his most ambitious work in this regard being the 1976 oratorio ''The Immortal Touch''. Many of Hanson's works, such as the ''Violin Concerto'', went unperformed for many years, and his 1941 ''Piano Sonata'' was only finally published in 1976, on the day of his death.

Selected list of major works

Dramatic : ''Dhoogor'' (ballet), 1945 : ''Three in One'' (film score), 1955 : ''The Lost Child'' (radio or TV op), 1958 : ''Surfing'' (film score), 1958 : ''Captain Cook (Cook’s Voyage)'' (film score), 1959 : ''Temptation'' (film score), 1960 : ''Jane Greer'' (opera), 1964 : Also other film scores Orchestral : ''Violin Concerto'', 1946 : ''Novelette'', 1947 : ''Overture for a Royal Occasion'', 1948 : ''Trumpet Concerto'', 1948 : ''Symphony'', 1952 : ''Trombone Concerto'', 1955 : ''Gula'', 1968 : ''Movement "Homage to Alfred Hill"'', 1969 : ''Piano Concerto'', 1972 : ''Fanfare'', 1973 Vocal : ''I dreamt that she sat by my head'' (Tagore), for mezzo/baritone and piano, 1935 : ''Fallen Veils'' (D.G. Rossetti), for soprano and piano, 1938 : ''This is my delight'' (Tagore), soprano and piano, 1941 : ''Spindrift'' (M. Memory), mezzo/baritone and piano, 1946 : ''Do not keep to yourself'' (Tagore), voice and piano, 1952 : ''My love, once upon a time'' (Tagore), 1960 : ''The Web is Wove'' (T. Gray), 1968 : ''Fern Hill'' (D. Thomas), violin and orchestra, 1969 : ''The Immortal Touch'' (Tagore), violin and orchestra, 1976 : Many others Chamber and solo instrumental : ''Piano Sonata'', 1938–40, revised 1963 : ''Procrastination'', piano, 1939 : ''Violin Sonata'', violin and piano, 1939 : ''Quizzic'', piano, 1940 : ''Preludes'', 1941 : ''Flute Sonata'', flute and piano, 1941 : ''Idylle'', 1942 : ''Piano Quintet'', 1944 : ''Fancies'', violin and piano, 1946 : ''Legende'', violin and piano, c1946 : ''Episodes on Tarry Trowsers'', piano, 1948 : ''Five Portraits'', piano, 1948 : ''Piano Sonatina'', 1949 : ''Seascape'', violin and piano, 1953 : ''Sonatina'', 1956 : ''Still Winds'', flute, guitar, double bass and vibraphone, 1956 : ''String Quartet'', 1967 : ''An Etching'', violin and piano, 1969 : ''Divertimento'', wind quintet, 1972 : ''Dedication'', 2 flutes, clarinet, 1973

Recordings

*''The Poet Sings'', (Lisa Harper-Brown – soprano,

David Wickham David Wickham (born 1966) is a British concert pianist, music director and conductor. He was born in Worthing, West Sussex. Performing career As an accompanist, Wickham has worked with Sara Macliver, Aivale Cole, Taryn Fiebig, Michael Goldsc ...

– piano), Stone Records 2012

References

Notes Sources
Raymond Hanson
Australian Music Centre website

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians Online
, (subscription required) *Sitsky, Larry; Martin, Ruth Lee (2005): ''Australian Piano Music of the Twentieth Century'', Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 35–42,
Extract
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson Raymond Charles 1913 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Australian classical composers Australian film score composers Australian male film score composers Winners of the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award 20th-century Australian male musicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers