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Hugh Ottaway

Hugh Ottaway (27 July 1925 – 6 November 1979) was a prominent British writer and lecturer on classical music.

Ottaway studied history at Exeter University (then the University of the South-West) from 1944. His career began as a teacher, freelance writer and from the 1950s as a presenter of musical talks on BBC Radio. His most significant contributions to music criticism were as a commentator on that portion of twentieth-century music which retained an allegiance to tonality; thus Nielsen, Shostakovich, Sibelius and William Walton featured largely in his output.

Ottaway was especially associated with British composers such as Edmund Rubbra and Robert Simpson, and a staunch supporter of the politically active Alan Bush. But David Scott has pointed out that he "was not limited by a nationalist outlook. His ability to view English composition in a broader context also made his reviews valuable".

He died in Malvern, aged 54. An archive of his papers is held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Provided by Wikipedia