SERENADES AND ELEGIES: THE RECENT MUSIC OF HUGH WOOD

Extract

In 1999, both Hugh Wood and Alexander Goehr retired from Cambridge University. Goehrfest, a short festival put on to mark this occasion, featured performances of works by both composers (and others associated with the university), but for the most part, as the name suggests, it was Goehr's departure that generated the greater amount of retrospective stock-taking and speculation about the future. Indeed, the focus on Goehr was not surprising, for in comparison Hugh Wood's output and influence have to date been more modest. Nevertheless, the time is long overdue for a critical (re)assessment of Wood's music, which has demonstrated throughout his career an enduring concern with both directness of communication and the upholding of a core set of aesthetic and technical values.