Donald Swann
Donald Ibrahím Swann (born September 30, 1923 in Llanelli , Wales , † March 23, 1994 in London ) was a British composer, musician and entertainer. He gained public attention primarily through his literary collaboration with Michael Flanders in the duo Flanders and Swann .
biography
Donald Swann was born on September 30, 1923 in Llanelli, Wales. His father was a Russian doctor and his mother a Russian nurse, they fled the Russian Revolution together. After the family moved to London together, Donald attended the schools in Dulwich and Westminster (where he first met Flanders).
In 1941 Swann won a modern language scholarship from Oxford's Christ Church . In 1942 he registered as a conscientious objector and worked for the Friend's Ambulance Unit (a peaceful Quaker unit ) in Egypt, Greece and Palestine. After the war Swann returned to Oxford to study Russian and Greek.
In 1948 the chance to meet Michael Flanders arose, and from then on their collaboration began. They started writing songs and operas. Swann contributed the music, Flanders the words. Her works have been embodied by actors such as Ian Wallace and Joyce Grenfell . Then they wrote two two-man revues: At The Drop Of A Hat and At The Drop Of Another Hat . They performed these all over the world until their partnership ended in 1967.
At that time, Swann also asserted himself as an extremely successful composer of operas and operettas. He is particularly famous for the music cycle The Road Goes Ever On , in which he translated the entire Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien as composer and pianist with William Elvin as singer.
After his partnership with Flanders ended, Swann continued to work as a solo artist and also wrote works for other artists. He founded the "Swann Singers" and went on tour with them in the 1970s.
In 1992 Swann was diagnosed with cancer. He died in Trinity Hospice in South London on March 23, 1994. The number of his works is estimated at around 2000.
Autobiography
- Donald Swann: Swann's Way. A life in song . ISBN 0-85305-329-4
Web links
- Donald Swann's website
- Works by and about Donald Swann in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Swann, Donald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Swann, Donald Ibrahím |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British composer, musician and entertainer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Llanelli , Wales |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 23, 1994 |
| Place of death | London |