composers
Cash for arts: should it be bums-per-pound or pounds-per-bum?Saturday, 31 March 2012
The organisation that channels public money to generate today's new classical music has been resoundingly condemned this week by all of Britain's most important composers. In an open letter, signed by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Sir Peter Maxwell... Read more... |
The music man who kept them dogies rollin'Tuesday, 25 October 2011
On Thursday the London Symphony Orchestra plays a night of epic movie music by the man who gave America’s cowboy heroes their most stirring tunes. Dimitri Tiomkin was one of Hollywood’s film-score giants, John Wayne’s choice as composer for The... Read more... |
Paganini's DaemonThursday, 22 September 2011
Niccolò Paganini was the most controversial classical musician who ever lived. Although widely acknowledged to be one of the most brilliant performers of his lifetime, he provoked wildly contradictory opinions amongst his contemporaries and was... Read more... |
BBC Proms: BBC Singers, Sinfonye, Hollingworth, Wishart, Cadogan HallSaturday, 27 August 2011
Twelfth-century abbess, healer and mystic Hildegard of Bingen had no formal musical training. Perhaps because of this her music – exquisite arabesques of chant melody, animated by the conviction of her religious beliefs – creates a language all its... Read more... |
My Summer Reading: Composer Nitin SawhneyWednesday, 24 August 2011
Composer and music producer Nitin Sawhney (b 1964) is known for his variety of musical projects, reflecting his background fusing Indian and British heritage. He has written music for films, television, dance productions, studio albums and concert... Read more... |
The Emperor of Atlantis, Arcola TheatreWednesday, 17 August 2011
We critics often find ourselves "embarrassed by historical facts", as Craig Raine once put it. Raine was trying to explain why so many people still value Wilfred Owen's poetry - to him, the most overrated corpus of the 20th century. "[Owen's]... Read more... |
Secrets of the Pop Song, BBC TwoSaturday, 02 July 2011
This hugely entertaining first instalment of a three-part investigation into what makes pop songs tick took as its theme "The Ballad", perhaps the most bomb-proof of pop's traditional forms. Mind you, the programme's definition of a ballad was... Read more... |
Now McCartney writes a ballet...Thursday, 24 February 2011Hot on the heels of the Pet Shop Boys’ foray into ballet for Sadler’s Wells next month, it’s revealed that Sir Paul McCartney has composed a ballet for New York City Ballet, a love story called Ocean’s Kingdom.Scheduled to premiere on 22 September,... Read more... |
Interview: Eric Whitacre, Virtual ChoirmasterTuesday, 19 October 2010
McDonald's (the hamburger people) are rarely acknowledged for their contributions to the arts, but without them we may never have witnessed the meteoric rise of composer Eric Whitacre. When he was 14, he heard a casting call on the radio for a... Read more... |
Sondheim pits Porter against CowardSunday, 17 October 2010
Talking to Jude Kelly at the Royal Festival Hall last night, Stephen Sondheim gave a glimpse into his own theory of lyrical composition by contrasting Noël Coward (whom "I intensely dislike") and Cole Porter.The problem with Coward, he said after... Read more... |
The ROH's Create contract tells the truth about the rights grabWednesday, 22 September 2010After Monday's report on the Royal Opera House’s new contract demands, a young composer alerted theartsdesk to an intriguing offer on the Covent Garden website - to "Create" a soundtrack for dance. This is a competition for new talent which will be... Read more... |
Rights Grab at The Royal Opera HouseMonday, 20 September 2010
For a creator of any kind, keeping control over what happens to their original work is essential. Their creativity is their livelihood, and their reputation is built on it. They protect it fiercely from other people copying it, altering it, selling... Read more... |
