Jonathan Harvey is one of the busiest UK contemporary composers, with his work regularly performed all across Europe and the UK. Very much in demand, Harvey's work is attracting commissions from many international organisations, his music being extensively played at all major international contemporary music festivals and large venues including the ENO, Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels and the Netherlands Opera. His diary is currently full with commissions all the way up to 2010.
A favourite with contemporary musicians, Harvey's music is a constant in many celebrated contemporary ensembles.. repertoires - Ensemble Intercontemporain, Asko, Nieuw Ensemble (Amsterdam), Ictus Ensemble (Brussels), TM+, Accroche Note, Ensemble Modern,and Arditti Quartet. Currently, there are around 80 recordings of Jonathan Harvey..s compositions available on CD.
Born in Sutton Coldfield in 1939, Jonathan Harvey was brought up in a musical family. His biggest early influence was his father who often composed at the family piano. His father..s musical friends would gather at the house, Jonathan joining them on cello, his brother on violin. Another early influence was that of the Benedictine monasteries he visited in his twenties. For several days at a time he would immerse himself in the quietude and ritual of these places, which only enhanced his readings of St. John of the Cross and other Christian mystics. With no desire to become a monk, Harvey remained connected to Christianity, exploring Hinduism and Buddhism, meditating and writing music, embracing both the sensuous and the spiritual. After winning a scholarship from Repton to St. John's College, Cambridge, Harvey studied with Erwin Stein, and Hans Keller, acquainting himself with procedures in medieval and renaissance music, as well as Schoenberg, Berg, Messiaen and, his mentor, Britten. He obtained his PhD from Glasgow Univeristy and a brief stint as deputy cellist with the BBC Scottish Orchestra followed before joining Academia in 1964 at the Music Department of Southampton University.
Jonathan Harvey was put firmly on the map of contemporary music when his work got noticed by legendary Pierre Boulez in early 1980s. An invitation from Boulez to work at IRCAM soon followed resulting in eight realisations for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, including the tape piece Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco - the first wholly electronic piece to be performed at the Proms - Bhakti for ensemble and electronics, Ritual Melodies for computer-manipulated sounds, Advaya for cello and live and pre-recorded sounds, String Quartet No.4 and the opera Wagner Dream. Harvey has composed for most other genres: orchestra (including Madonna of Winter and Spring, Tranquil Abiding and White as Jasmine), chamber (including four String Quartets, Soleil Noir/Chitra, and Death of Light, Light of Death, for instance) as well as works for solo instruments, most notably writing Percussion Concerto for Evelyn Glennie and Bird Concerto with Pianosong for Joanna McGregor. Producing a large output of choral works, including the large cantata with electronics Mothers shall not Cry (2000), Harvey's church opera Passion and Resurrection (l981) was the subject of a BBC television film. His opera Inquest of Love, commissioned by ENO, was premiered there in 1993 and subsequently performed at Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels in 1994. His third opera, Wagner Dream, will be performed in three capitals in 2007. It's subject is Wagner's vision at death of the Buddhist legend of Prakriti and Ananda,'Die Sieger'.
In 1999 Jonathan Harvey published two books, on inspiration (Music and Inspiration) and spirituality (In Quest of Spirit). He has also published a book on Stockhausen. Today, Harvey holds posts at St John's College, Cambridge (Honorary Fellow) and Sussex University (Honorary Professor of Music) as well as being Composer-in-Residence at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was professor at Stanford University, California from 1995-2000. Happily married to Rosa, Jonathan Harvey lives a quite life in Lewes when not criss-crossing Europe to attend his numerous performances. He has two grown up children .. Anna Harvey, London based singer songwriter and band member of electro pop outfit Fake Fur and Dominic Harvey .. architect surfer residing at the South of France. He has 3 grandchildren. -------
A favourite with contemporary musicians, Harvey's music is a constant in many celebrated contemporary ensembles.. repertoires - Ensemble Intercontemporain, Asko, Nieuw Ensemble (Amsterdam), Ictus Ensemble (Brussels), TM+, Accroche Note, Ensemble Modern,and Arditti Quartet. Currently, there are around 80 recordings of Jonathan Harvey..s compositions available on CD.
Born in Sutton Coldfield in 1939, Jonathan Harvey was brought up in a musical family. His biggest early influence was his father who often composed at the family piano. His father..s musical friends would gather at the house, Jonathan joining them on cello, his brother on violin. Another early influence was that of the Benedictine monasteries he visited in his twenties. For several days at a time he would immerse himself in the quietude and ritual of these places, which only enhanced his readings of St. John of the Cross and other Christian mystics. With no desire to become a monk, Harvey remained connected to Christianity, exploring Hinduism and Buddhism, meditating and writing music, embracing both the sensuous and the spiritual. After winning a scholarship from Repton to St. John's College, Cambridge, Harvey studied with Erwin Stein, and Hans Keller, acquainting himself with procedures in medieval and renaissance music, as well as Schoenberg, Berg, Messiaen and, his mentor, Britten. He obtained his PhD from Glasgow Univeristy and a brief stint as deputy cellist with the BBC Scottish Orchestra followed before joining Academia in 1964 at the Music Department of Southampton University.
Jonathan Harvey was put firmly on the map of contemporary music when his work got noticed by legendary Pierre Boulez in early 1980s. An invitation from Boulez to work at IRCAM soon followed resulting in eight realisations for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, including the tape piece Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco - the first wholly electronic piece to be performed at the Proms - Bhakti for ensemble and electronics, Ritual Melodies for computer-manipulated sounds, Advaya for cello and live and pre-recorded sounds, String Quartet No.4 and the opera Wagner Dream. Harvey has composed for most other genres: orchestra (including Madonna of Winter and Spring, Tranquil Abiding and White as Jasmine), chamber (including four String Quartets, Soleil Noir/Chitra, and Death of Light, Light of Death, for instance) as well as works for solo instruments, most notably writing Percussion Concerto for Evelyn Glennie and Bird Concerto with Pianosong for Joanna McGregor. Producing a large output of choral works, including the large cantata with electronics Mothers shall not Cry (2000), Harvey's church opera Passion and Resurrection (l981) was the subject of a BBC television film. His opera Inquest of Love, commissioned by ENO, was premiered there in 1993 and subsequently performed at Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels in 1994. His third opera, Wagner Dream, will be performed in three capitals in 2007. It's subject is Wagner's vision at death of the Buddhist legend of Prakriti and Ananda,'Die Sieger'.
In 1999 Jonathan Harvey published two books, on inspiration (Music and Inspiration) and spirituality (In Quest of Spirit). He has also published a book on Stockhausen. Today, Harvey holds posts at St John's College, Cambridge (Honorary Fellow) and Sussex University (Honorary Professor of Music) as well as being Composer-in-Residence at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was professor at Stanford University, California from 1995-2000. Happily married to Rosa, Jonathan Harvey lives a quite life in Lewes when not criss-crossing Europe to attend his numerous performances. He has two grown up children .. Anna Harvey, London based singer songwriter and band member of electro pop outfit Fake Fur and Dominic Harvey .. architect surfer residing at the South of France. He has 3 grandchildren. -------
