Egon Joseph Wellesz (October 21 1885 – November 9 1974) Austrian composer, teacher and musicologist, pupil of Arnold Schoenberg and student of Byzantine music. Left Austria for England in the wake of the Anschluss — more specifically, as noted in a review of the recent recording of songs and orchestral works on the Capriccio label — probably quoting their program notes — was in the Netherlands at the time by good fortune. Wrote nine symphonies and an equal number of string quartets, the former starting, in 1945, only with his arrival in England and the latter series of works spread throughout his life. Also wrote much other music including operas — of which Die Bakchantinnen was revived and recorded a few years ago; an octet with the same instrumentation as Schubert's, piano and violin concerti (one of each), for instance. Stylistically his earliest music, somewhat like that of Ernst Krenek, is in a very harsh but tonal style; there is a definite second period of sorts around the time of the first two symphonies (1940s) in which his music has a somewhat Brucknerian sound — in the symphonies sometimes an equal breadth, though still with something of a 20th-century feel and harmonies, and after his fourth symphony (the Austriaca) his music is more pan-tonal/non-tonal, serial in character. This is consistent, in for instance the 8th quartet, with hints of tonality.

The record label cpo in Osnabrück has now almost finished releasing a complete recording of his nine symphonies, though aside from this his music has been comparatively sparsely represented on CD or LP. The 3rd symphony , unpublished until recently, was only premiered — in Vienna — in 2000, after the composer's death (receiving its US premiere the year after, from the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein), though the others attained premieres and usually BBC broadcasts during his lifetime. Several have titles, the 2nd (The English), 4th as mentioned (Austriaca) and 7th (Contra torrentum).

External links

• An Austrian Symphonist in Britain
• Notes to US premiere of symphony 3