Paul Reade

The television soundtracks of composer Paul Reade were well known even to listeners who could not identify the composer. Reade also wrote a good deal of concert music, most of which received less exposure. Beginning in the late '60s, he was active as a composer for children's television. In the '80s, Reade turned to music for adult television shows. Reade had already composed several major concert works, including the cantata The Journey of the Winds (1976) and a Saxophone Quartet (1979), and his production of concert works increased during the '80s. His Flute Concerto (1985) was commissioned by the Manchester Camerata and premiered by flutist Philippa Davies; Reade and Davies were later married. As of the mid-2020s, about a dozen of his works had been recorded, many of them on the collection A Celebration of Paul Reade in 2023.