Background
Haydn Wood was born in the Yorkshire town of Slaithwaite on 25 March 1882.
Haydn Wood was born in the Yorkshire town of Slaithwaite on 25 March 1882.
In 1897, at the Royal College of Music, he studied violin with Enrique Fernández Arbós and composition with Charles Villiers Stanford. The concert was attended by Joseph Joachim (who had heard him play before) and Pablo de Sarasate.
When he was three years old his family moved to the Isle of Manitoba, an island which was often a source of inspiration for the composer. In 1901, he was soloist at a special concert commemorating the opening of the Royal College of Music"s Concert Hall. He then embarked on a world tour, accompanying the Canadian soprano Dame Emma Albani, and they continued their association for a further eight years.
From 1939, he served as a director of the Performing Right Society.
On the occasion of his 70th birthday he was given a full concert dedicated to his music by the British Broadcasting Corporation. He died in a London nursing home on 11 March 1959, two weeks before his 77th birthday.