Graham Fitkin
Graham Fitkin (born 19 April 1963) is a British
Biography
Fitkin was born at
Fitkin returned to Cornwall in 1991 and, as of 2010, lives in
Music
Fitkin's work is broadly classified as
Fitkin's earliest compositions were for piano, including From Yellow to Yellow and The Cone Gatherers.
The success of his early compositions for piano, particularly The Cone Gatherers, led to Fitkin being commissioned to write his first ensemble work, Cud, for jazz orchestra.[4] Cud and Fitkin's other early ensemble works including Hook and Stub often make use of electronic instruments and percussion, and are influenced by jazz and rock.[3][11] A more recent work for electronic instruments is the album Kaplan, which was inspired by the character George Kaplan from Alfred Hitchcock's film, North by Northwest.[12] In 1994–96, Fitkin was the composer-in-residence at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and during the mid-to-late 1990s he composed twelve orchestral pieces including a clarinet concerto.[2][3] He has composed several works for musical theatre, including the short opera Ghosts, and has also written or adapted several pieces for contemporary dance, including Huoah.[2][13]
Recent projects include Still Warm, a work for multiple
In 1996, he formed the Graham Fitkin Group.
Awards
In 1994, Fitkin won the International Grand Prix Music for Dance Video Award.[10] He has twice won British Composer Awards: in 2009, Reel won the Stage Works category;[21] in 2011, PK won the Outreach category.[22]
Selected works
Solo and multiple pianos
- From Yellow to Yellow (1985)
- The Cone Gatherers (1987)
- Loud (1989), for six pianos
- Flak (1989), for two pianos/eight hands
- Log (1990), for six pianos
- Line (1991), for six pianos
- Fervent (1992–94)
- Piano Pieces 93 (1993)
- Relent (1998)
Piano and orchestra
- Granite (1995)
- Circuit (2002)
- Ruse (2009)
Orchestral
- Cud (1988)
- Length (1994)
- Bebeto (1995)
- Henry (1995)
- Metal (1995)
- Clarinet Concerto (1998)
- Reel (2008)
- PK (2010), with choir
- Cello Concerto (2011)
- Recorder Concerto (2017)
Ensemble
- Ironic (1997)
- Bed (1998)
- Beethoven 7 (2000)
Other
- Huoah (1988), for brass band; rewritten as ballet score (1995)
- Slow (1990), for string quartet and two keyboards
- Hook (1991), for percussion quartet
- Skirting (2001), for solo guitar
- Lens (2003), for piano trio
- Pawn (2004), for string quartet
- Geography (2004), for computers and video
- Kaplan (2004), multimedia
- L (2005), for cello and piano
- Still Warm (2006), for electronically manipulated harps
- Sinew (2009), sextet for violin, viola, cello, clarinet, horn and piano
Partial discography
- Skirting, Jim and Pam and Pam and Jim on The Uncommon Harp (compilation) – Ruth Wall
- Ironic, and other ensemble works – Graham Fitkin Group
- Granite – Peter Donohoe (piano), Petr Altrichter and Graham Fitkin (conductors), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
- Flak, and other piano works – various (Factory Classical; 1991)
- Slow, Huoah, Frame – Smith Quartet (Argo; 1992)
- Log, Line, Loud – Piano Circus(Argo; 1992)
- Hook, Mesh, Stub, Cud – various (Argo; 1993)
- Kaplan – Graham Fitkin and Ruth Wall (Black Box; 2003)
- Hook, Mesh, Stub, Cud, Log, Line, Loud, Hard Fairy – various (Decca; 2004)
- Still Warm – Fitkin Wall (GFR; 2007)
- Circuit, Relent, Carnal, and other piano works – Noriko Ogawa and Kathryn Stott (piano), Naoto Otomo (conductor), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (BIS Records; 2010)
References
- ^ a b Johnson P. Classical music: Graham Fitkin Group Arnolfini, Bristol. Independent (17 March 1998) (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Potter K. "Fitkin, Graham". In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b c d e Whittall A. "Fitkin, Graham". In The Oxford Companion to Music(Latham A, ed.), Oxford Music Online (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b c d e Composition Today: Graham Fitkin Interview (13 November 2004) (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ Graham Fitkin, musicweb-international.com, August 2005 (accessed 19 January 2012)
- ^ a b Butler J. Composer Graham Fitkin to premiere Fitkin: The Band in Penzance. What's On South West (21 January 2010)[permanent dead link] (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ PRS for Music Foundation: Graham Fitkin Archived 23 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ Potter K. "Minimalism". In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b Clements A. Fitkin: Circuit; Relent; Carnal; etc Guardian (4 March 2010) (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b c Cambridge Suzuki Young Musicians: Graham Fitkin: Composer-in-Residence at CSYM's Cambridge Suzuki Summer Music Institute 2007 (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ Cornall A. Short Cuts sleeve notes (Argo; 1994)
- ^ Sutton K. Graham Fitkin: Kaplan: Review (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ [New York City Ballet: Huoah] (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ a b PRS for Music Foundation: Case Study: Fitkin Wall Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ Maisel, Andrew (Sunday, 4 October 2009). "Fibonacci Sequence at Kings Place Archived 7 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine", ClassicalSource.com. (accessed 8 April 2016)
- ^ "Graham Fitkin commission at BBC Proms". mpaonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011., August 2011 (accessed 19 January 2012)
- ^ BBC Proms: Prom 60: Walton/G. Butterworth/Arnold/Graham Fitkin/Bernstein/Gershwin/John Williams/Warren, arr. Don Sebesky Archived 28 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ Graham Fitkin's Myspace (accessed 2 November 2010)
- ^ "2012 Cultural Olympiad composers named". Gramophone., 10 December 2010 (accessed 19 January 2012)
- ^ Fortey M. "Argo (i)". In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online (accessed 20 June 2010)
- ^ British Composer Awards winning works and composers Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 19 January 2012)
- ^ British Composer Awards winners announced gramophone.co.uk, 1 December 2011 (accessed 19 January 2012).