Daniel Jones (composer)

Daniel Jenkyn Jones (born December 7, 1912 in Pembroke , Wales , † April 23, 1993 in Swansea , Wales) was a Welsh composer and conductor . He came from a musical family; his father Jenkyn Jones was also a composer, his mother a singer.

Life

From 1935 he studied a. a. with Sir Henry Wood and Harry Farjeon . In 1951, his '' Symphonic Prologue '' won First Prize from the Royal Philharmonic Society . He had been friends with Dylan Thomas since school and composed the music for the radio play Under Milk Wood in 1954 . The finished version was broadcast for the first time on the radio in January 1954 with the participation of Richard Burton , who spoke the main part of the first voice, and was awarded the prestigious Prix ​​Italia radio play prize that same year . Dylan Thomas should not live to see the world success of Under Milk Wood again; he had died at the age of 40 two months before the play's groundbreaking premiere.

Jones composed a. a. 14 symphonies, the fourth of which he dedicated to Dylan Thomas.

In 1968, Jones was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II .

Works

Compositions (selection)

• Symphony No. 4 (1954)
• String Quartet (1957)
• The Country Beyond the Stars (Cantata) (1958)
• Orestes (Opera) (1967)
• String Trio (1970)
• Symphony No. 9 (1974)
• Dance Fantasy (1976)
• Symphony No. 10 (1981)
• Symphony No. 12 (1985)
• Cello concert (1986)
• String Quartet (1993)

literature

• Daniel Jones: My Friend Dylan Thomas. Dent. ISBN 0460043145 .