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Harry in America

Donald Macleod speaks to Sir Harrison Birtwistle about his friendship with Morton Feldman and the inspiration behind one of the great orchestral works of the 20th century.

This week Donald Macleod meets Sir Harrison Birtwistle, described as 鈥渢he most forceful and uncompromisingly original composer of his generation鈥. We hear his major compositions, broadly in chronological order, and reveal the preoccupations and processes behind a singular music imagination.

In this episode, Donald Macleod explores Birtwistle鈥檚 time in America, after an invitation to teach there by his great friend Morton Feldman. We hear about his collaboration with the electronic music pioneer Peter Zinovieff on the tape piece Chronometer, and about how Breughel鈥檚 engraving The Triumph of Time foreshadows the structure of Birtwistle鈥檚 massive orchestral work of the same name.

Dinah and Nick鈥檚 Love Song
Helen Tunstall, harp
John Harle, saxophone
Simon Haram, saxophone
David Roach, saxophone

Trio
Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Adrian Brendel, cello
Till Fellner, piano

Chronometer
Peter Zinovieff, tape

The Triumph of Time
Philharmonia Orchestra
Elgar Howarth, cond.

Producer: Iain Chambers

59 minutes

Music Played

  • Harrison Birtwistle

    Dinah and Nick Love Song

    Performer: Helen Tunstall. Performer: John Harle. Performer: Simon Haram. Performer: David Roach.
    • Unicorn-Kanchana DKPCD9160.
    • Unicorn-Kanchana DKPCD9160.
    • 22.
  • Harrison Birtwistle

    Trio

    Performer: Lisa Batiashvili. Performer: Adrian Brendel. Performer: Till Fellner.
    • ECM 4765050.
    • ECM 4765050.
    • 4.
  • Harrison Birtwistle

    Chronometer (extract)

    Performer: Peter Zinovieff. Performer: Harrison Birtwistle.
    • Space Age Recordings 鈥- ORBIT.
    • Space Age Recordings 鈥- ORBIT.
    • 1.
  • Harrison Birtwistle

    The Triumph of Time (extract)

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Elgar Howarth.
    • COLLINS CLASSICS 13872.
    • COLLINS CLASSICS 13872.
    • 5.

Broadcast

  • Tue 29 Oct 2019 12:00

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