Matthew King (composer)
Encyclopedia
Matthew King is a British
composer
and pianist
. His works include opera
, piano and chamber music, choral and orchestral pieces.
for multiple horns with percussion and an electronic score by Nye Parry was composed for performance in a forest. Described as "a site-specific symphony, one that could never sound the same way twice", the work utilises the harmonic spectra of natural horns and electronically altered horn sounds calling to each other across a vast performing space.
King has also composed a series of innovative community works which endeavour to combine professional and amateur performers in a dynamic creative process without patronising either group. King's On London Fields
(libretto by Alasdair Middleton
) was described by Stephen Pettitt in the Evening Standard
as "unafraid of complexity, even when writing for very young performers. Some of the clashing rhythms and textural layerings are mind-boggling."
King's recent works include Odyssean Variations (premiered by British cellist Natalie Clein
and an orchestra of young musicians from the London Borough of Hackney in 2008); the chamber opera Das Babylon Experiment (premiered in the open air in Nuremberg in 2008) and Totentango
, premiered in 2010 by the London Symphony Orchestra
. Blue, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, was written in 2011 for the Savant pianist, Derek Paravicini
and a high speed tone poem called "Velocity", for ensemble with off stage cellos, chorus and big band was premiered by Aurora Orchestra
in 2011.
Matthew King is married with three children. He has presented several programmes on BBC Radio 4
and Radio 3
. He teaches composition at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
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 pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. His works include opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, piano and chamber music, choral and orchestral pieces.
Career
King's early works include The Snow Queen, described by one reviewer as "music of distinctive beauty with disarming theatre sense." More recently he has experimented with unusual combinations of instruments, sometimes located in unconventional performing environments. The King's Wood SymphonyKing's Wood Symphony
King's Wood Symphony is a musical composition by Matthew King, specifically designed to be performed in a large open, outdoor space and lasting approximately an hour. The original scoring is for a minimum of 19 french horns with electronics, percussion and wind-up gramophones...
for multiple horns with percussion and an electronic score by Nye Parry was composed for performance in a forest. Described as "a site-specific symphony, one that could never sound the same way twice", the work utilises the harmonic spectra of natural horns and electronically altered horn sounds calling to each other across a vast performing space.
King has also composed a series of innovative community works which endeavour to combine professional and amateur performers in a dynamic creative process without patronising either group. King's On London Fields
On London Fields (opera)
On London Fields is an opera in two acts by Matthew King with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton. It was commissioned by Hackney Music Development Trust and premiered in the Hackney Empire theatre in 2004...
(libretto by Alasdair Middleton
Alasdair Middleton
Alasdair Middleton is a British playwright and opera librettist. He also teaches the Junior Classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.- Opera libretti :*Everything Money Can Buy *Out Of The Ordinary...
) was described by Stephen Pettitt in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
as "unafraid of complexity, even when writing for very young performers. Some of the clashing rhythms and textural layerings are mind-boggling."
King's recent works include Odyssean Variations (premiered by British cellist Natalie Clein
Natalie Clein
Natalie Clein is a British cellist. Her mother is a professional violinist. Her sister is the actress Louisa Clein....
and an orchestra of young musicians from the London Borough of Hackney in 2008); the chamber opera Das Babylon Experiment (premiered in the open air in Nuremberg in 2008) and Totentango
Totentango
Totentango is a short orchestral work by the British composer Matthew King, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra who premiered the work in the Barbican Hall in London in February 2010. The conductor at the first performance was Pavel Kotla...
, premiered in 2010 by 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:...
. Blue, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, was written in 2011 for the Savant pianist, Derek Paravicini
Derek Paravicini
Derek Paravicini is a blind English autistic savant and a musical prodigy. He lives in Surrey.-Biography:Paravicini was born extremely prematurely, at 25 weeks . His blindness was caused by oxygen therapy given during his time in a neonatal intensive care unit...
and a high speed tone poem called "Velocity", for ensemble with off stage cellos, chorus and big band was premiered by Aurora Orchestra
Aurora Orchestra
Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra founded in 2005 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati.It is based in Kings Place, London and at LSO St Luke's....
in 2011.
Matthew King is married with three children. He has presented several programmes on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
and Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
. He teaches composition at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Selected works
- The Snow Queen (Chamber Opera)The Snow Queen (Chamber Opera)The Snow Queen is a chamber opera in six scenes with a prologue by Matthew King. The libretto, by Andrew McKinnon, is based on the original allegorical fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The opera was composed in 1992 for the British soprano Jane Manning who sang the title role in the first...
1992 - Jonah (opera/oratorio) 1996
- GethsemaneGethsemane (Oratorio)Gethsemane is a chamber-oratorio by the British composer, Matthew King. Commissioned for the opening concert of the 1998 Spitalfields Festival, the work was composed for the early music group, Florilegium and is scored for 4 vocalists and a 'Baroque' ensemble consisting of flute solo, 2 oboes, 3...
(chamber oratorio) 1998 - Ash on the GroundRobert Schumann in Three PiecesRobert Schumann in Three Pieces is the collective title given to three works, composed for the Avenue A ensemble by the British composer, Matthew King. Together, they constitute a musical portrait of the German Romantic composer, Robert Schumann...
(Symphonic Variations for Avenue A) 1998 - Love in a LifeRobert Schumann in Three PiecesRobert Schumann in Three Pieces is the collective title given to three works, composed for the Avenue A ensemble by the British composer, Matthew King. Together, they constitute a musical portrait of the German Romantic composer, Robert Schumann...
(soprano and ensemble) 2000 - Night Phantoms and Rocking HorsesRobert Schumann in Three PiecesRobert Schumann in Three Pieces is the collective title given to three works, composed for the Avenue A ensemble by the British composer, Matthew King. Together, they constitute a musical portrait of the German Romantic composer, Robert Schumann...
(ensemble) 2000 - Quartet 2001 (String Quartet) 2001
- Four Places in Yorkshire (String Quartet) 2004
- On London Fields (opera)On London Fields (opera)On London Fields is an opera in two acts by Matthew King with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton. It was commissioned by Hackney Music Development Trust and premiered in the Hackney Empire theatre in 2004...
2004 (winner of 2005 RPS Education Award) - Brunel (opera project)Brunel (opera project)The Brunel opera project is a collaboration between Matthew King , Nye Parry and Michael Irwin to write a dramatic work based on the life and work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel...
2004 - SonatasOne Minute Wonders (piano)One Minute Wonders is the name given to a series of piano pieces by leading British composers, commissioned by the pianist Clive Williamson in association with the University of Surrey. The challenge, laid down to all contributing composers, was that submitted compositions had to last no longer...
(Piano solo) 2005 - The Darker side of Mechanical Perfection (orchestra) 2005
- Hear our Voice (community cantata) 2006 (written in collaboration with Jonathan DoveJonathan DoveJonathan Dove is a British composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera , including in 1990 a famous 18-player two-evening adaptation of Wagner's Der Ring des...
)http://www.hmdt.org.uk/inschool_hearourvoice_1.html - King's Wood SymphonyKing's Wood SymphonyKing's Wood Symphony is a musical composition by Matthew King, specifically designed to be performed in a large open, outdoor space and lasting approximately an hour. The original scoring is for a minimum of 19 french horns with electronics, percussion and wind-up gramophones...
(horns, percussion and electronics) 2007 - Odyssean Variations (cello and orchestra) 2008
- Das Babylon Experiment (chamber opera) 2008
- TotentangoTotentangoTotentango is a short orchestral work by the British composer Matthew King, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra who premiered the work in the Barbican Hall in London in February 2010. The conductor at the first performance was Pavel Kotla...
(commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra) 2009 - Blue (piano and orchestra) 2011
- Velocity (ensemble, big band, cellos and chorus) 2011
Sources
- Maycock, Robert, King's Wood Symphony, Challock, Kent, Review of King's Wood Symphony, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 26 June 2007 (retrieved 29 April 2010) - Morley, Christopher Culture: Riches at the stroke of a baton, The Birmingham PostBirmingham PostThe Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
, 31 December 2003. (retrieved via subscription 3 March 2008) - Odam, George and Bannan, Nicholas (eds.), The Reflective Conservatoire: Studies in Music Education, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2005 pp 151–178
- Pettitt, Stephen, "Hats off to the young and old of Hackney", Evening StandardEvening StandardThe Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, 22 November 2004 (retrieved 29 April 2010) - White, Michael, Review of the first full staging of The Snow Queen, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 1 January 1996 (retrieved via subscription 3 March 2008) - White, Michael, "At last: a really festive festival" (Review of King's Gethsemane at the Spitalfields Festival), The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 7 June 1998 (retrieved 29 April 2010) - Rees, Carla, http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2009/Apr09/Rocking_horses_WVR002.htm (Music Web International review Of King's Robert Schumann in Three Pieces), April 2009