Julian Anderson
Encyclopedia
Julian Anderson is a British composer
and teacher of composition.
, then with John Lambert
at the Royal College of Music
, with Alexander Goehr
at Cambridge University
, privately with Tristan Murail
in Paris, and on courses given by Olivier Messiaen
, Per Nørgård
and György Ligeti
.
From 2000 to 2004 he was Head of Composition at the Royal College of Music
, and from 2004 to 2007 Fanny P. Mason Professor of Music at Harvard University
. He is currently Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
. He was Composer-in-Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
from 2001 to 2005 and Daniel R. Lewis Fellowship Composer with The Cleveland Orchestra
from 2005 to 2007. From 2002 to the end of the 2010-11 concert season, he was artistic director of the 'Music of Today' concert series run by the Philharmonia Orchestra
in London. In autumn 2011 his appointment as the next Composer in Residence at the Wigmore Hall
was announced.
Anderson's publisher describes his music as
These influences combine with elements of modernism
, spectral music
and electronic music
to make up what Gramophone has called "the composer's vivid, transfixing sound worlds".
Anderson's first orchestral piece, Diptych, was completed in 1990, and achieved great success, as did Khorovod
(completed in 1994) and Alhambra Fantasy (2000), both composed for the London Sinfonietta
. The latter work has been performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain
, the Asko Ensemble
and the Ensemble Modern
, often under the direction of Oliver Knussen
, a regular collaborator and continuing advocate of Anderson's music.
His first work written for the CBSO
, Imagin'd Corners, premiered in 2002, was described by the Daily Telegraph as "seeth[ing] with variety of texture, dynamics and colour, from the atmospheric stillness of the opening to the high density and tumult as the piece reaches its final climax. This is a fine score, full of optimism and real creative drive." A year later, Symphony was composed for the CBSO and their chief conductor Sakari Oramo
. This won the 2004 British Association of Composers and Songwriters Award for Best New Orchestral Piece.
In the last decade, Anderson has written a large amount of unaccompanied choral music, including Sing Unto the Lord (written for Westminster Cathedral), I Saw Eternity (2003, first performed by the London Philharmonic Choir
) and the Four American Choruses (2001-4; composed for the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
and their conductor Simon Halsey
, who gave their first UK performance in 2005). While appearing simpler in style than his instrumental music, these pieces are often related to the larger works, both technically (for example 'At the Fountain', the last of the Four American Choruses, has the same melodic and harmonic basis as a passage from Alhambra Fantasy) and aesthetically (the American poet Emily Dickinson
is a recurring presence, as are themes of non-denominational spirituality or a secularised Christianity).
Anderson has also used both live and pre-recorded electronics in his large-scale Book of Hours
for 20 players and electronics, composed for the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
, who gave the first performance in February 2005 with Oliver Knussen
. His third and final full orchestral work composed for Birmingham forces, Eden, was first heard at the 2005 Cheltenham International Music Festival, played by the CBSO under Martyn Brabbins
, and is an exploration of the non-tempered tuning of the harmonic series
. This preoccupation with fusing tempered modality and non-tempered resonance is continued in his largest work to date, Heaven is Shy of Earth, an oratorio for mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra lasting nearly 35 minutes, commissioned by the BBC for the 2006 Promenade Concerts, where it was premiered by singer Angelika Kirchschlager
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
. A new version of that work, expanded through the addition of a new (third) movement, 'Gloria (with Bird)', was premiered at the Barbican Centre
on 26 November 2010 with Susan Bickley as the soloist.
Other recent works include Alleluia for chorus and orchestra, composed for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall
("The London Philharmonic Choir
, with nowhere to hide in such a revealing acoustic, maintained pitch admirably and delivered a virtuoso cadenza of animated susurration"), and Fantasias, a 25-minute orchestral work premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra in November 2009 displaying a new interest in multi-movement structures.
Alhambra Fantasy, a recording of five of Anderson's orchestral and ensemble pieces conducted by Oliver Knussen
, won the 2007 Gramophone Best of Category (Contemporary) Award
, from a shortlist which also included the NMC disc Book of Hours. (Both CDs were released in 2006, and were the first two commercially available discs entirely devoted to Anderson's work.)
Anderson's music is published exclusively by Faber Music
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and teacher of composition.
Biography
Anderson studied at Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, then with John Lambert
John Lambert
John Lambert may refer to:*John Lambert , English Protestant martyred during the reign of Henry VIII*John Lambert , Parliamentary general in the English Civil War...
at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, with Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, privately with Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
in Paris, and on courses given by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård
Per Nørgård is a Danish composer.-Biography:Nørgård studied with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. To begin with, he was strongly influenced by the Nordic styles of Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen and Vagn Holmboe...
and 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:...
.
From 2000 to 2004 he was Head of Composition at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, and from 2004 to 2007 Fanny P. Mason Professor of Music at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He is currently Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
. He was Composer-in-Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
from 2001 to 2005 and Daniel R. Lewis Fellowship Composer with The Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
from 2005 to 2007. From 2002 to the end of the 2010-11 concert season, he was artistic director of the 'Music of Today' concert series run by the Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
in London. In autumn 2011 his appointment as the next Composer in Residence at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
was announced.
Anderson's publisher describes his music as
... characterised by a fresh use of melody, vivid contrasts of texture and lively rhythmic impetus. He has a continuing interest in the music of traditional cultures from outside the Western concert tradition. He has a special love for the folk music of Eastern Europe–especially of the LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n, PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n traditions–and has also been much influenced by the modality of Indian ragas.
These influences combine with elements of modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, spectral music
Spectral music
Spectral music is a musical composition practice where compositional decisions are often informed by the analysis of sound spectra. Computer-based sound spectrum analysis using tools like DFT, FFT, and spectrograms...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
to make up what Gramophone has called "the composer's vivid, transfixing sound worlds".
Anderson's first orchestral piece, Diptych, was completed in 1990, and achieved great success, as did Khorovod
Khorovod
Khorovod is a Slavic art form, a combination of a circle dance and chorus singing, similar to Chorea of ancient Greece.- External links :*...
(completed in 1994) and Alhambra Fantasy (2000), both composed for the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
. The latter work has been performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain
Ensemble InterContemporain
The Ensemble InterContemporain is a French chamber orchestra, based in Paris at the Cité de la musique and IRCAM, which specialises in contemporary classical music....
, the Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specializes in contemporary classical music. Formed in 1965 and based in Amsterdam, the group performs traditional concerts along with film music programmes, dance and multimedia projects and modern opera....
and the Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries....
, often under the direction of Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, a regular collaborator and continuing advocate of Anderson's music.
His first work written for the CBSO
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
, Imagin'd Corners, premiered in 2002, was described by the Daily Telegraph as "seeth[ing] with variety of texture, dynamics and colour, from the atmospheric stillness of the opening to the high density and tumult as the piece reaches its final climax. This is a fine score, full of optimism and real creative drive." A year later, Symphony was composed for the CBSO and their chief conductor Sakari Oramo
Sakari Oramo
Sakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor.Oramo started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he enrolled in Jorma Panula's conducting class at the Sibelius Academy...
. This won the 2004 British Association of Composers and Songwriters Award for Best New Orchestral Piece.
In the last decade, Anderson has written a large amount of unaccompanied choral music, including Sing Unto the Lord (written for Westminster Cathedral), I Saw Eternity (2003, first performed by the London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic Choir
The London Philharmonic Choir is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The Patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Roger Norrington is President. The choir, comprising over 200 members, holds charitable status and is governed by a...
) and the Four American Choruses (2001-4; composed for the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
The CBSO Chorus is a chorus based in Birmingham, England. It is regarded as one of the finest symphony choruses in Europe.It was founded in 1974 as the CBSO Chorus, but between 1995 and 2009 was known officially as The City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus...
and their conductor Simon Halsey
Simon Halsey
Simon Halsey is an English choral conductor.Born in London, Halsey sang in the choirs of both New College, Oxford and King's College, Cambridge. He studied conducting at the Royal College of Music in London....
, who gave their first UK performance in 2005). While appearing simpler in style than his instrumental music, these pieces are often related to the larger works, both technically (for example 'At the Fountain', the last of the Four American Choruses, has the same melodic and harmonic basis as a passage from Alhambra Fantasy) and aesthetically (the American poet Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
is a recurring presence, as are themes of non-denominational spirituality or a secularised Christianity).
Anderson has also used both live and pre-recorded electronics in his large-scale Book of Hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
for 20 players and electronics, composed for the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is a chamber orchestra based in Birmingham, England. BCMG specialises in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham...
, who gave the first performance in February 2005 with Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
. His third and final full orchestral work composed for Birmingham forces, Eden, was first heard at the 2005 Cheltenham International Music Festival, played by the CBSO under Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
, and is an exploration of the non-tempered tuning of the harmonic series
Harmonic series (music)
Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling...
. This preoccupation with fusing tempered modality and non-tempered resonance is continued in his largest work to date, Heaven is Shy of Earth, an oratorio for mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra lasting nearly 35 minutes, commissioned by the BBC for the 2006 Promenade Concerts, where it was premiered by singer Angelika Kirchschlager
Angelika Kirchschlager
Angelika Kirchschlager is an Austrian mezzo-soprano opera and lieder singer.-Career:Kirchschlager began her musical training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she studied percussion and piano. In 1984, she went to the Vienna Music Academy, where she studied with Gerhard Kahry and Walter Berry...
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
. A new version of that work, expanded through the addition of a new (third) movement, 'Gloria (with Bird)', was premiered at the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
on 26 November 2010 with Susan Bickley as the soloist.
Other recent works include Alleluia for chorus and orchestra, composed for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
("The London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic Choir
The London Philharmonic Choir is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The Patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Roger Norrington is President. The choir, comprising over 200 members, holds charitable status and is governed by a...
, with nowhere to hide in such a revealing acoustic, maintained pitch admirably and delivered a virtuoso cadenza of animated susurration"), and Fantasias, a 25-minute orchestral work premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra in November 2009 displaying a new interest in multi-movement structures.
Alhambra Fantasy, a recording of five of Anderson's orchestral and ensemble pieces conducted by Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, won the 2007 Gramophone Best of Category (Contemporary) Award
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Awards are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry, often referred to as the Oscars for classical music. The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including...
, from a shortlist which also included the NMC disc Book of Hours. (Both CDs were released in 2006, and were the first two commercially available discs entirely devoted to Anderson's work.)
Anderson's music is published exclusively by Faber Music
Faber Music
Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
.
Selected works
- Diptych (1990) for orchestra
- Khorovod (1994)
- Poetry Nearing Silence (1997), commissioned by the Nash Ensemble [7 short movements; also exists in a continuous version for ballet titled Towards Poetry]
- The Crazed Moon (1997)
- The Stations of the Sun (1998)
- Alhambra Fantasy (2000)
- The Bird Sings with its Fingers (2001), four choreographic sketches for chamber orchestra
- Four American Choruses (2001–2004)
- Imagin’d Corners (2002) for five horns and orchestra
- I saw Eternity (2003) for unaccompanied chorus
- Symphony (2004)
- Book of Hours (2004) for ensemble and electronics
- Eden (2005)
- Heaven is Shy of Earth (2006, rev. 2009-10) for mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra
- The Comedy of Change (2009), co-commissioned by the ASKO Ensemble and Rambert Dance CompanyRambert Dance CompanyRambert Dance Company, is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it would exert a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, it continues to be one of the...
- Fantasias (2007-9) for orchestra
- Bell Mass (2010) for choir and organ
Awards
- 1993 Royal Philharmonic Society's Young Composer Prize
- 2001 South Bank Show Award for the Best New Dance Work for The Bird Sings with its Fingers
- 2004 British Composer Award for Symphony
- 2006 Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Large-Scale Composition for Book of Hours
- 2007 Best of Category (Contemporary) Gramophone Award Winner for the recording Alhambra Fantasy (BBC Sinfonietta / Oliver Knussen)