Hugh Ottaway was a prominent British writer on concert music. His most significant contributions were as a commentator on that portion of twentieth-century music which retained an allegiance to tonality; thus Nielsen

Carl Nielsen

Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...

, Shostakovich and Sibelius featured largely in his output. He was especially associated with British tonal composers such as Edmund Rubbra

Edmund Rubbra

Edmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...

 and Robert Simpson

Robert Simpson (composer)

Robert Simpson was an English composer and long-serving BBC producer and broadcaster.He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music , and for his writings on the music of Beethoven, Bruckner, Nielsen and Sibelius. He studied composition under Herbert Howells...

.

Ottaway studied history at Exeter University.

Books

• Mozart
• Sibelius (Novello Short Biographies; 1968)
• Vaughan Williams Symphonies (BBC Music Guides series; 1972 [reprinted 1977, 1980 and 1987])

ISBN 0-56-312242-0.

• Shostakovich Symphonies (BBC Music Guides, No 39; 1978)
• Edmund Rubbra, an appreciation: Together with a complete catalogue of compositions to May 1981 (Lengnick; 1981)

Articles

• 'Nielsen's Sixth Symphony'; 'The Musical Times', Vol. 95, No. 1337, Summer Book Number (Jul., 1954), pp. 362–363
• 'Clues and Keys' - Hugh Ottaway on the music of Robert Simpson
  Robert Simpson (composer)
  Robert Simpson was an English composer and long-serving BBC producer and broadcaster.He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music , and for his writings on the music of Beethoven, Bruckner, Nielsen and Sibelius. He studied composition under Herbert Howells...
  
  '; 'The Listener', 21 May 1970
• Review: 'Simpson's New Symphonies'; Tempo (New Ser.), No. 105 (Jun., 1973), pp. 53–54

Obituary

• 'Hugh Ottaway', The Musical Times, Vol. 121, No. 1643 (Jan., 1980), p. 48