William Alwyn, 80; English Composer

William Alwyn, who wrote five symphonies, three string quartets and an opera but is probably better known for the background scores he composed for 60 motion pictures, has died at the age of 80, his family said Thursday.

Alwyn died Wednesday in a hospital near his home in Blythburgh, on the Suffolk coast of eastern England.

He was professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1926 to 1955 and in 1978 was made a Commander of the British Empire for his services to music.

Alwyn, who helped organize the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain in 1949, wrote film scores between 1936 and 1963. Those credits included “Odd Man Out,” “Fallen Idol,” “Swiss Family Robinson,” “The Naked Edge,” “The True Glory” and many more.