Irvine Arditti
Encyclopedia
Irvine Arditti is a British violinist.
at the age of 16 where he studied with Clarence Myerscough
and Manoug Parikian. He joined the London Symphony Orchestra
in 1976 and after two years, at the age of 25, became its Co-Concert Master. He left the orchestra in 1980 in order to devote more time to the Arditti Quartet which he had formed while still a student.
In 1988 he was given an honourary F.R.A.M from the Royal Academy for distinguished work.
The Arditti Quartet
is generally regarded as the most well known and respected new music group and was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens
Music Prize in 1999 for ‘lifetime achievement’ in music.
Irvine Arditti has been responsible for having given the world premières of a number of large scale works specially written for him. These include Iannis Xenakis
’ Dox Orkh and Toshio Hosokawa
’s Landscape III, both for violin and orchestra, as well as Brian Ferneyhough
’s Terrain, Luca Francesconi’s Riti Neurali and Body Electric, James Dillon
’s Vernal Showers, Jonathan Harvey
’s Scena, Brice Pauset's Vita Nova, Roger Reynolds
Aspiration and Salvatore Sciarrino
's Le Stagioni Artificiali all for violin and ensemble.
He has also been responsible for the creation of many solo works including both of
Ferneyhough’s solo violin works, Intermedio and Unsichtbare Farben.
He was also responsible for inspiring John Cage
to complete his Freeman Etudes
giving the first complete performance of them in 1991.
He has appeared with many distinguished orchestras and ensembles which include the Bayerische Rundfunk, BBC Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Paris, Het Residentie den Hague, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Asko Ensemble, Ensemble Contrechamps, London Sinfonietta, Nieuw Ensemble, Nouvel Ensemble Modern, Oslo Sinfonietta, Schoenberg Ensemble.
He has performed in most major concert halls and music festival throughout the world.
His performances of many concertos have won acclaim by their composers, in particular György Ligeti
, Henri Dutilleux
, and Xenakis. He has recorded solo works widely, in more 30 albums, as well as having made more than 180 with the Arditti quartet.
His recording of Luciano Berio
's violin Sequenza, on Mode Records
won the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis for 2007 and was awarded best contemporary music release by the Italian music magazine Amadeus in 2008. In 2009 Arditti was appointed foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music
.
Arditti is married to the prominent Mexican composer, Hilda Paredes
. They reside in London.
Life
He began his studies at the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
at the age of 16 where he studied with Clarence Myerscough
Clarence Myerscough
Clarence Myerscough was a British violinist.After studying at the Royal Academy of Music and the Paris Conservatoire under Frederick Grinke and Rene Benedetti, he won the All England Violin Competition in the Festival of Britain and came second in the Carl Flesch Competition .He later formed the...
and Manoug Parikian. He joined the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
in 1976 and after two years, at the age of 25, became its Co-Concert Master. He left the orchestra in 1980 in order to devote more time to the Arditti Quartet which he had formed while still a student.
In 1988 he was given an honourary F.R.A.M from the Royal Academy for distinguished work.
The Arditti Quartet
Arditti Quartet
The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.-Early history:The quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti together with John Senter, Levine Andrade and Lenox Mackenzie...
is generally regarded as the most well known and respected new music group and was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens
Ernst von Siemens
Ernst Albrecht von Siemens , the son of Carl Friedrich von Siemens, was a German industrialist and one of the successors of his family's company.-Life:...
Music Prize in 1999 for ‘lifetime achievement’ in music.
Irvine Arditti has been responsible for having given the world premières of a number of large scale works specially written for him. These include Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
’ Dox Orkh and Toshio Hosokawa
Toshio Hosokawa
is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:Hosokawa studied with Yun Isang at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 1998, Hosokawa has served as Composer-in-Residence at the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In 2004, Hosokawa became a guest professor at Tokyo College of Music...
’s Landscape III, both for violin and orchestra, as well as Brian Ferneyhough
Brian Ferneyhough
Brian John Peter Ferneyhough is an English composer. His music is characterized by the extensive use of complex rhythmic tuplet notation which features in all his works...
’s Terrain, Luca Francesconi’s Riti Neurali and Body Electric, James Dillon
James Dillon (composer)
James Dillon, born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Scottish composer often regarded as belonging to the New Complexity school. Dillon studied art and design, linguistics, piano, acoustics, Indian rhythm, mathematics and computer music, but is self-taught in composition.Honors include...
’s Vernal Showers, Jonathan Harvey
Jonathan Harvey (composer)
Jonathan Harvey is a British composer. He has held teaching positions at universities and music conservatories in Europe and the USA and is frequently invited to teach in summer schools around the world.-Life:...
’s Scena, Brice Pauset's Vita Nova, Roger Reynolds
Roger Reynolds
Roger Reynolds is an American composer born July 18, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan. He is a professor at the University of California at San Diego. He received an undergraduate degree in engineering physics from the University of Michigan where he later studied composition with Ross Lee Finney...
Aspiration and Salvatore Sciarrino
Salvatore Sciarrino
Salvatore Sciarrino is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:In his youth, Sciarrino was attracted to the visual arts, but began experimenting with music when he was twelve. Though he had some lessons from Antonino Titone and Turi Belfiore, he is primarily self-taught as a...
's Le Stagioni Artificiali all for violin and ensemble.
He has also been responsible for the creation of many solo works including both of
Ferneyhough’s solo violin works, Intermedio and Unsichtbare Farben.
He was also responsible for inspiring John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
to complete his Freeman Etudes
Freeman Etudes
Freeman Etudes are a set of etudes for solo violin composed by John Cage. Like the earlier Etudes Australes for piano, these works are incredibly complex, nearly impossible to perform, and represented for Cage the "practicality of the impossible" as an answer to the notion that resolving the...
giving the first complete performance of them in 1991.
He has appeared with many distinguished orchestras and ensembles which include the Bayerische Rundfunk, BBC Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Paris, Het Residentie den Hague, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Asko Ensemble, Ensemble Contrechamps, London Sinfonietta, Nieuw Ensemble, Nouvel Ensemble Modern, Oslo Sinfonietta, Schoenberg Ensemble.
He has performed in most major concert halls and music festival throughout the world.
His performances of many concertos have won acclaim by their composers, in particular György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
, and Xenakis. He has recorded solo works widely, in more 30 albums, as well as having made more than 180 with the Arditti quartet.
His recording of Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
's violin Sequenza, on Mode Records
Mode Records
Mode Records is an AmericaContemporary classical music|n record label based in New York City, New York, whose primary focus is modern classical, avant-garde, and new music. Composers featured include John Cage, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, and Harry Partch. Performers include Aki Takahashi,...
won the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis for 2007 and was awarded best contemporary music release by the Italian music magazine Amadeus in 2008. In 2009 Arditti was appointed foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
.
Arditti is married to the prominent Mexican composer, Hilda Paredes
Hilda Paredes
Hilda Paredes is one of Mexico's leading contemporary composers, and has received many prestigious awards for her work...
. They reside in London.
External links
- Irvine Arditti interview by Bruce Duffie, March 1, 1992
- "Interview with Irvine Arditti ", 16 August 2009