Raymond Hanson (composer)
| Raymond Charles Hanson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 November 1913 Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 6 December 1976 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Composer, teacher |
Raymond (Charles) Hanson AM (23 November 1913 – 6 December 1976) was an Australian composer and lecturer in composition at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music now known as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. A highly regarded teacher and mentor to many prominent Australian musicians, such as Don Burrows, Larry Sitsky and Roger Woodward, 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.
Hanson was born in the Sydney suburb of Burwood on 23 November 1913, the youngest of five children to Australian-born railroad engineer 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 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, and though he later left the faith he retained a lifelong interest in spirituality.
Hanson attended Burwood Public and Fort Street High Schools, 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. 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.
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