Iain Hamilton
About Iain Hamilton
Iain Hamilton was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 6 June 1922 but moved to London in 1929. He was educated at Mill Hill School and spent seven years in engineering before winning a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music. He studied with William Alwyn and Harold Craxton and won many prizes including the Koussevitsky Foundation Award (for his Second Symphony), the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Prize (for his Clarinet Concerto) and the Edwin Evans Memorial Prize before graduating in 1951 with the Academy’s highest honour, the Dove Prize.
During the 1950’s Hamilton was active both as a composer and in London musical life, lecturing at Morley College and London University, organising concerts as chairman of the music section of the Institute of Contemporary Arts and forming his own group ‘Music Now’. He was chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain in 1958.
From 1961 to 1981 Hamilton lived in New York, commuting to Duke University where he was Mary Duke Biddle Professor of Music, and spent a certain period each year in London. He returned to live in London in June 1981.
An overtly dramatic tension arising from bold contrasts of gesture and timbre is central to Hamilton’s music, whether in operatic or orchestral works. He was one of the first British composers to exploit the serial method, applied with great fluency to large-scale forms often exploring subjects drawn from classical antiquity. He subsequently relaxed this rigorous if brilliant stance into a more approachable style and an immediacy of language that has proved itself particularly effective in a number of highly successful operas.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from London University and an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Glasgow University. The Composers’ Guild of Great Britain gave him the Vaughan Williams Award as Composer of the Year in 1974.
A recording of the Clarinet Concerto was released on Champ Hill Records in 2020 performed by Robert Plane and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins - CHRCD160
Gallery
Products
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A Light OvertureComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreSeries: "1912"
Instrumentation: orchestraProduct number: ED 10846In stock€15.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for baritone and small instrumental ensembleComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: baritone and small ensembleLanguage: English
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Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: horn and pianoProduct number: ED 10232In stock€4.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for small orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: small orchestra
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Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreSeries: Arias
Instrumentation: small orchestraProduct number: ED 11245In stock€21.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
OvertureComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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OvertureComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreSeries: Bartholomew Fair
Instrumentation: orchestraProduct number: ED 10649In stock€23.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for horn, two trumpets, trombone and tubaComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: horn, 2 trumpets, trombone and tuba
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreSeries: Cantos
Instrumentation: orchestraProduct number: ED 11105In stock€15.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicInstrumentation: trumpet in Bb and pianoProduct number: ED 10239In stock€3.95Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping
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for piano and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Piano reduction, for 2 pianosSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: piano and orchestraProduct number: ED 10774Product TypeIn stockAs low as €18.99Incl. Tax -
for jazz trumpet and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Study scoreSeries: Music Of Our Time
Concerto
Instrumentation: jazz trumpet and orchestraProduct number: ED 10692Product TypeIn stockAs low as €9.99Incl. Tax -
for jazz trumpet and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: jazz trumpet and orchestra
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for clarinet and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: clarinet and orchestra
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for violin and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: violin and orchestra
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for organ and small orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: organ and small orchestra
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for violin and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Piano reduction with solo partSeries: Concerto
Instrumentation: violin and orchestraProduct number: ED 11161In stock€32.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for piano and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: piano and orchestra
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Work of Banks, Fricker, Hamilton, SearleComposer: Iain Hamilton | Humphrey SearleMedia Type: Sheet musicInstrumentation: pianoProduct number: ED 10547In stock€14.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping
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for coloratura soprano and chamber ensembleComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: coloratura soprano and chamber ensembleLanguage: French
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Study scoreSeries: Écossaise
Instrumentation: orchestraProduct number: ED 10838In stock€21.00Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for high voice and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: high voice and orchestraLanguage: English
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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Composer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Choral scoreInstrumentation: 11 solo partsProduct number: ED 10784Product TypeIn stockAs low as €13.99Incl. Tax
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Product TypeIn stockAs low as €11.99Incl. Tax
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for flute, two clarinets, violin, violoncello and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: flute, 2 clarinets, violin, cello and piano
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for two orchestrasComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for clarinet and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Score and partSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: clarinet and pianoProduct number: ED 10426Product TypeIn stockAs low as €21.99Incl. Tax -
Composer: Iain HamiltonSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: viola and pianoProduct number: ED 10263Product TypeIn stockAs low as €34.99Incl. Tax -
for chamber orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: chamber orchestra
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for cello and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Two copies required for performanceInstrumentation: cello and pianoProduct number: ED 10606Out of stock€8.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping
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for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and hornComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
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for horn and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: horn and pianoProduct number: ED 10971Product TypeIn stockAs low as €13.99Incl. Tax -
for ten wind instrumentsComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: 10 wind instruments
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Composer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Study scoreSeries: Edition Schott
String Quartet No. 1
Instrumentation: string quartetProduct number: ED 10217Product TypeIn stockAs low as €33.99Incl. Tax -
Composer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Set of partsSeries: String Quartet No. 1
Instrumentation: string quartetProduct number: ED 10256Out of stock€59.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping -
for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: orchestra
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for baritone solo, chorus and orchestra;op. 33Composer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Piano reductionSeries: The Bermudas
Instrumentation: baritone, choir and orchestraProduct number: ED 10034Product TypeIn stockAs low as €23.99Incl. Tax -
for baritone solo, chorus and orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: baritone, choir and orchestraLanguage: English
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An ancient border gathering song for mixed choirComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Sheet musicEdition: Choral scoreInstrumentation: mixed choirLanguage: EnglishProduct number: ED 10295In stock€26.50Incl. Tax, Excl. Shipping
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for clarinet in A and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Score and partsSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: clarinet in A and pianoProduct number: ED 10194Product TypeIn stockAs low as €14.99Incl. Tax -
for violin, cello and pianoComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Score and partsSeries: Edition Schott
Instrumentation: violin, cello and pianoProduct number: ED 10590Product TypeIn stockAs low as €42.99Incl. Tax -
for string orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonEdition: Study scoreInstrumentation: string orchestraProduct number: ED 10218Product TypeIn stockAs low as €21.99Incl. Tax
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for string orchestraComposer: Iain HamiltonMedia Type: Hire/performance materialEdition: Performance materialInstrumentation: string orchestra