Christopher Fox (composer)

Christopher Fox ( born March 10, 1955 in York) is an English composer.

Fox studied at the Universities of Liverpool, Southampton and York; were among his teachers Hugh Wood and Jonathan Harvey. In 1984 he received his doctorate with a major in composition at the University of York. 1984-94 he taught composition at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. In 1987, he lived under the program of the DAAD Artist in West Berlin. In 1994 he accepted an appointment as professor of composition at the Music Department of the University of Huddersfield. Since 2006 he is professor at the Faculty of Music at Brunel University in London. His music has been performed internationally, produced and broadcast. Fox is also often work as lyricist for musical themes. In addition to works for the concert hall Fox also collaborates with visual artists, or the poet Ian Duhig.

An important aspect of Fox's music is its enormous stylistic range. While his main focus seems to be on music system ( an experimental, specifically British form of minimal music ) and a systematic approach, his music has a political function. She uses psychological and other mental models to musical structure and content and is thus deeply rooted in the Darmstadt post-war tradition. At the same time she lives in a world of simultaneity of different musical attitudes, which involves also references to pop culture, historical and cross-cultural music.

Among his works are complex, microtonal chamber music, with larger scale ensemble pieces, tape collages, minimalist pieces for guitars and saxophones as well as solo pieces for various classical instruments. As previously Tippett combining the love for the United States and generally to the modern with the roots in the strict thinking of European modernity. This is reflected in its connection to the composer resist, which he also writes ( for ' Vanity ' plate text as well as published reviews ), such as Richard Barrett, Michael Finnissy and James Clarke ( plate text for a chamber music CD at NMC Records), literary collaboration, programmatic considerations and long-standing professional link with performers such as Apartment House ( 2004 " ZONE " time - place - name and 1989 "Skin" ), the Ives Ensemble (2001 "Everything You Need To know" with variable cycle time of 10 to 88 minutes ), the Orkest De Volharding (since 2004 working on " Class Action ," a 80-minute drive) and Ian Pace ( compilation CD of his piano music).

Fox's musical writings have been published varied - among other things in the magazines Contact ( as its editor, he served ), Contemporary Music Review, Musical Times and Tempo. They deal primarily with new music, especially experimental, minimalist and complex flows of American and European music. He was co-editor of From Kranichstein the Present (1996, DACO Verlag, Stuttgart ) for the 50th anniversary of the Darmstadt summer courses, as well as at Uncommon Ground: The Music of Michael Finnissy involved (1998, Ashgate Press, Aldershot ).