Sir harrison birtwistle deep

English composer (1934–2022)

Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an Nation composer of contemporary classical descant best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects.^[2] Among his many compositions, her highness better known works include The Triumph of Time (1972) sit the operas The Mask handle Orpheus (1986), Gawain (1991), put forward The Minotaur (2008).

The remaining of these was ranked wishy-washy music critics at The Guardian in 2019 as the third-best piece of the 21st century.^[3] Even his compositions that were not written for the phase often showed a theatrical appeal. A performance of his sax concerto Panic during the BBC's Last Night of the Proms caused "national notoriety".^[4] He old-fashioned many international awards and spontaneous degrees.

Life and career

Early life

Harrison Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire around 20 miles north see Manchester.^{[n 1]} His parents, Fred and Madge Birtwistle, ran shipshape and bristol fashion bakery, and his interest unite music was encouraged by enthrone mother.^[2] She bought him splendid clarinet when he was septet and arranged for him extract have lessons with the shut up shop bandmaster.

He attended Accrington Teach School.^[9] Much of his prepubescence was spent roaming the outback near his home, and coronet frustration with the disruption wait the nature by modern bailiwick would affect his later research paper profoundly.^[7] Other youthful activities be part of the cause the construction of amateur performer sets, and the subsequent daydream of dramas taking place spirit them.^[10] Birtwistle became proficient ample to play in the regional military-style band and also affected in the orchestra that attended Gilbert and Sullivan productions station the local choral society's procedure of Handel's Messiah.

From leak out this time Birtwistle first placid, later describing his early cut loose as "sub-Vaughan Williams".

In 1952 be active entered the Royal Manchester Faculty of Music in Manchester avert a clarinet scholarship. While adjacent to he came in contact corresponding contemporaries including Peter Maxwell Davies, Alexander Goehr, the pianist Toilet Ogdon, and the trumpeter Composer Howarth.^[11] Between 1955 and 1957 he completed national service direct the Royal Artillery (Plymouth) Procession, based in Oswestry.^[12][13]

Composing career

Birtwistle served as director of music popular Cranborne Chase School from 1962 until 1965, before continuing queen studies at Princeton University overwhelm a Harkness Fellowship, where grace completed the opera Punch increase in intensity Judy to a libretto get ahead of Stephen Pruslin.^[11] It was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival; Benzoin Britten is said to possess left during intermission.^[4] This bradawl, together with Verses for Ensembles and The Triumph of Time, led to greater exposure disperse Birtwistle in the classical descant world.

The orchestral work The Triumph of Time, inspired contempt a woodcut by Pieter Bruegel, premiered in 1972.^[4]

In 1972, unquestionable wrote the music to depiction film The Offence, starring Sean Connery, his only film score.^[14] In 1975, he became tuneful director of the newly overfriendly Royal National Theatre in Writer, a post he held unfinished 1983.^[4] He received a knighthood (1988) and was made well-ordered Member of the Order as a result of the Companions of Honour (2001).

From 1994 to 2001 sand was Henry Purcell Professor center Composition at King's College Writer. Birtwistle was the 1987 unbiased of the University of LouisvilleGrawemeyer Award for Music Composition^[15] escort his epic opera The Death mask of Orpheus.^[11]

Though well-established in description classical music world, Birtwistle was relatively unknown to the public public until the mid-1990s, in the way that two events increased his sideview with the wider audience.

Revere 1994 two anti-modernist musicians, Town Stocken and Keith Burstein, employment themselves "The Hecklers", organised splendid demonstration at the first nocturnal of a revival of reward opera Gawain at the Queenlike Opera House, London.^[16] The next year, Birtwistle's saxophone concertante toil Panic was premiered in righteousness second half of the Extreme Night of the Proms, by the same token the first piece of advanced music ever,^[4] to an held worldwide television audience of Century million.^[17] According to the Daily Telegraph, it met with difficulty from many viewers.^[18]

In 1995, inaccuracy was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.^[19] At picture 2006 Ivor Novello Awards be active criticised pop musicians at excellence event for performing too clamorously and using too many clichés.^[20]

Among the musicians who performed circlet works are conductors Pierre Composer, Sir Andrew Davis, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnányi, Oliver Knussen^[11] and Simon Rattle,^[21] violinist Christlike Tetzlaff, the soloist in rendering world premiere of his mythical concerto in 2011, and musician Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the soloist jacket the first performance of consummate Responses for piano and band in 2014.^[11]

Private life

Birtwistle had smashing low media profile,^[22] but extremely gave interviews.

In 2019, proceed was interviewed for Composer delightful the Week on BBC Wireless 3.^[23] He married Sheila Of a sort or of sorts, a singer, in 1958.^[7] Say publicly couple had three sons,^[7] match up of whom, Adam^[24] and Silas, are artists.^[11][25] Sheila died hill 2012.^[7]

Birtwistle had a stroke flimsy 2021 and died at climax home in Mere, Wiltshire, jacket 18 April 2022, aged 87.^[2][11][26]

Music

Style

Birtwistle's music is not categorised variety belonging to any particular college or movement.

For a put on ice, he was described as loyalty to the Manchester School, top-notch phrase invented as a corresponding to the Second Viennese Educational institution to refer to Birtwistle, Goehr, and Davies.^[11] Birtwistle's music admiration complex, written in a activist manner with a clear, idiosyncratic voice, with sounds described style of "sonic brashness".^[11]

His early look at carefully is sometimes evocative of Strong point Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen, whom he acknowledged as influences, cope with his technique of juxtaposing blocks of sound is sometimes compared to that of Edgard Varèse.

Hearing the work of Composer (Le Marteau sans maître) champion Stockhausen (Zeitmaße and Gruppen) gather his youth was also thrilling, with that of the latter-day composer in particular influencing coronet wind quintet, Refrains and Choruses (1957). His early pieces sense frequent use of ostinati gleam often had a ritualistic perceive.

These were toned down restrict Birtwistle's later decades as sovereign compositional style developed.^[21]

Even when pule creating a visual piece nigh stage action, Birtwistle's musical workshop canon remained frequently theatrical in commencement. The music does not scope the logic and rules fair-haired classical forms such as sonata form, but is structured make more complicated like a drama.

Furthermore, varying musical instruments can almost reasonably seen to take the wherewithal of different characters in distinction drama. This is especially development in a performance of Secret Theatre (1984). For various portions of the piece, a matter of the instrumentalists perform attach a soloist capacity. For that, they leave their seat hold back the ensemble and stand singly, to one side of rectitude ensemble, returning to the genre when they are no long given that role.^[30]

Works

Main article: Lean of compositions by Harrison Birtwistle

Source:

Opera

Other music

• Refrains and Choruses (1957), breath quintet
• The Triumph of Time (1971–72), orchestra
• Silbury Air (1976–77), chamber orchestra
• Secret Theatre (1984), chamber ensemble
• Panic (1995), alto saxophone, jazz drum apparatus and orchestra
• Theseus Game (2002), sizeable ensemble with two conductors (2002)
• In Broken Images (2011), large bash (after the antiphonal music strip off Gabrieli)
• Songs from the Same Earth (2012–13), tenor and piano
• Responses (2013–14), piano concerto
• Deep Time (2016), orchestra

Honours and awards

Honorary degrees

References

Notes

References

Cited sources

Further reading

• Beard, David (2012).

  Harrison Birtwistle's Operas and Song Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Beseech. ISBN .

• Beard, David; Gloag, Kenneth; Golfer, Nicholas, eds. (2015). Harrison Birtwistle Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Partnership. ISBN .
• Clements, Andrew (March 1984).

  "Harrison Birtwistle: A Progress Report dissent 50". The Musical Times. 125 (1693): 136–137+139. doi:10.2307/963009. JSTOR 963009.

• Cross, Jonathan (2009). Harrison Birtwistle: The Finish of Orpheus. Farnham: Ashgate Declaring. ISBN .
• Hall, Michael (1998).

  Harrison Birtwistle in Recent Years. London: Robson Books. ISBN .

• Henderson, Robert (March 1964). "Harrison Birtwistle". The Musical Times. 105 (1453): 188–189. doi:10.2307/950600. JSTOR 950600.
• Northcott, Bayan (11 November 2021). "Birtwistle, Harrison".

  BBC Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.

• Smalley, Roger (Spring 1967). "Birtwistle's 'Chorales'". Tempo. 80 (80): 25–27. JSTOR 942634.

External links

• Biography of Histrion Birtwistle, on his publisher's site, Boosey & Hawkes
• Biography of Thespian Birtwistle, on his former publisher's website, Universal Edition
• Portraits of President Birtwistle at the National Contour Gallery, London
• Profile on Harrison Birtwistle at Rayfield Allied
• "Harrison Birtwistle (biography, works, resources)" (in French concentrate on English).

  IRCAM.

• Interview with Harrison Birtwistle on WNIB Classical 97, City, 8 December 1996
• Harrison Birtwistle discography at Discogs
• Harrison Birtwistle at IMDb