Harrison Birtwistle

[Parry1912]

Simon Rattle once said, about his great friend Alfred Brendel: "What you have to understand about Alfred is that, for him, apart from Purcell and The Mask of Orpheus, ALL English music is second-rate."

This coming from a man who played so much Liszt!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But, having thought that the comparison of Birtwistle and Wagner was about as ludicrous as you could get in terms of musical ability, I have now to cede my place in the comedy stakes to the earlier poster who seems to be linking Byrd with Richard Barratt.

No, I think you were right the first time.

[Orphical]

Probably most of you will know that The Mask of Orpheus will be produced at the Holland Festival in 2014

[MrGongGong]

indeed

Tis a great work
but why is it's composer so grumpy ?

(nothing personal.................... but I keep meeting people with more or less the same tale )

[Beef Oven]

indeed

Tis a great work
but why is it's composer so grumpy ?

(nothing personal.................... but I keep meeting people with more or less the same tale )

Met Bumwhistle at an Elliot Carter gig (or some similar gig) in 2004ish. He was medium grumpy, tempered by being accompanied by Peter Maxwell House I think.

P.S. Is Carter still going? He must be about 119 by now!

[MrGongGong]

Met Bumwhistle at an Elliot Carter gig (or some similar gig) in 2004ish. He was medium grumpy, tempered by being accompanied by Peter Maxwell House I think.

Max is never grumpy in my experience and does a wicked swan terrine ("or so I have read")


I hope you are up for a game of "Tap quotes in context"

[Beef Oven]

Max is never grumpy in my experience and does a wicked swan terrine ("or so I have read")


I hope you are up for a game of "Tap quotes in context"

Tinal Spat?

[Bryn]

I have very fond memories of a piano, four hands, recital given by Harrison Birtwistle and Morton Feldman in the depths of Broadcasting House in the early to mid '70s. They made a really great pair, both with fairly stubby finger and hunched over the keyboard. No offence to either species is intended when I say the image I still have is of two pigs at a trough. Two most delightfully musical and engaging members of the porcine fraternity. I wonder if anyone here just happens to have a recording of the Radio 3 broadcast of that concert? Regrettably, I do not.

[rauschwerk]

P.S. Is Carter still going? He must be about 119 by now!

He is 103. I'm looking forward to hearing (at Snape next month) the UK premiere of his Interventions, written to be performed by Messrs. Barenboim and Levine on his 100th birthday.

[ahinton]

Met Bumwhistle at an Elliot Carter gig (or some similar gig) in 2004ish. He was medium grumpy, tempered by being accompanied by Peter Maxwell House I think.

P.S. Is Carter still going? He must be about 119 by now!

If that was a Nash Ensemble concert at the Purcell Room, I was there too - it included two Birtwistle works and the world première of Carter's Mosaic. Yes, HB did indeed look grumpy and seemed to take little notice of Carter who was sitting in front of him. I don't remember seeing PMD there, though. I had a brief conversation (though no controversies! - [think about it]) with Elliott C in which he said, among other things, that he wouldn't write any more works for full orchestra - "it's just too exhausting - all that manuscript paper, all those staves...". As has been pointed out, Carter's now 103 and, as far as I know, still writing; to the best of my knowledge, he's the only compoer ever to have written into his second century.

[ahinton]

He is 103. I'm looking forward to hearing (at Snape next month) the UK premiere of his Interventions, written to be performed by Messrs. Barenboim and Levine on his 100th birthday.

Carter was at one time supposed to be writing a new work in celebration of Barenboim's 70th birthday which falls this year, but I've heard nothing more about this.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Tis a great work
but why is it's composer so grumpy ?

He's from Accrington! That's how we have fun! (Besides, have you tasted Thwaites' bitter?! Just the thought makes my mouth turn down at the edges.)

Actually, listening to Sir HB in conversation, what seems to be "grumpy" is actually a wry, mordent wit bordering on mordent sarcasm. (qv: Peter Tinniswood's Uncle Mort!)

[amateur51]

He's from Accrington! That's how we have fun! (Besides, have you tasted Thwaites' bitter?! Just the thought makes my mouth turn down at the edges.)

Actually, listening to Sir HB in conversation, what seems to be "grumpy" is actually a wry, mordent wit bordering on mordent sarcasm. (qv: Peter Tinniswood's Uncle Mort!)

Of blessed memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Apscp3hsM

[Beef Oven]

If that was a Nash Ensemble concert at the Purcell Room, I was there too - it included two Birtwistle works and the world première of Carter's Mosaic. Yes, HB did indeed look grumpy and seemed to take little notice of Carter who was sitting in front of him. I don't remember seeing PMD there, though. I had a brief conversation (though no controversies! - [think about it]) with Elliott C in which he said, among other things, that he wouldn't write any more works for full orchestra - "it's just too exhausting - all that manuscript paper, all those staves...". As has been pointed out, Carter's now 103 and, as far as I know, still writing; to the best of my knowledge, he's the only compoer ever to have written into his second century.

I am pretty sure that I attended that concert too, but it's not the one I'm thinking of. Maxwell D was definitely sitting next to him. Might've been Boulez conducting at the Barbican. Had a brief chat with EC and he was clearly getting knackered, signing everyone's programme!

[3rd Viennese School]

I still havent heard this HB Violin concerto!

Can't Radio 3 broadcast it or something ? They did broadcast Rebecca Saunders Violin concerto on Performance on 3 so they can do this!

3VS