Michael Berkeley

Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton CBE (* May 29, 1948 ) is a British composer, who was in 2013 by the proposal of the House of Lords Appointments Commission as a life peer member of the House of Lords.

Life

Study and first significant compositions in the 1980s

Berkeley, eldest son of composer Lennox Berkeley and a godchild of the composer, conductor and pianist Benjamin Britten, completed his education at The Oratory School in Woodcote, as well as the Choir School of Westminster Cathedral, where he sang as a choirboy. Later, he began a study in composition, voice and piano at the Royal Academy of Music, before he concentrated mid-1970s under the influence of Richard Rodney Bennett on composition and in 1977 awarded the Guinness Prize for Composition. In 1979 he was co-composer of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Scotland, and has since been creating numerous compositions have been performed worldwide.

Among his most famous compositions of the 1980s include Gregorian Variations ( 1982), which were performed in England and the USA under the direction of André Previn, as well as the resulting 1982 a specially written by Ian McEwan text oratorio Or Shall We Die? , Which of Richard Eyre was filmed for Channel 4. For soprano Heather Harper, he created compositions such as For the Savage Messiah (1985) and Songs of Love Awakening, which were performed at the Proms in 1988.

In addition, he also created film music such as the first time for Captive (1986 ) by Paul Mayer mountain with Oliver Reed and Irina Brook, where he worked here with The Edge from U2.

In addition to the Concerto for Organ, he composed Keening for the saxophonist John Harke, while Fierce Tears were created I and II Fierce Tears specifically for the oboist Nicholas Daniel. Other well-known works of this period included Quartet Study and Coronach and Gethsemane fragment, two pieces for string orchestra.

1990s

At the beginning of the 1990s, Berkeley created the expressionist Concerto for Clarinet for the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, during his first opera, Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was based on the youth of Rudyard Kipling, and with a libretto by David Malouf in 1993 with great success with the public criticism on the Cheltenham Festival was premiered. Shortly after it was sent to radio and TV for the BBC and recorded by the music label Chandos Records on CD.

Among his other film scores included Goldeneye - The man who James Bond was ( Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming, 1989), a biopic about Ian Fleming, Don Boyd with Charles Dance, and the resulting also directed by Don Boyd movie Twenty One (1991 ) with Patsy Kensit and Rufus Sewell. In addition, he worked from 1991 to 1994 as a visiting professor at the University of Huddersfield.

1995 Berkeley itself was Artistic Director of the Cheltenham International Festival of Music, where he worked until 2004. During this time there was premiere of over one hundred works and campaigned for the inclusion of contemporary works in the festival programs. For many years he presented the show Private Sessions in BBC Radio 3, for which he was awarded in 1996 with the Broadcasting Press Guild 's Radio Programme of the Year Award.

Under the direction of Colin Davis was by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO ) Secret Garden premiered in 1997 and then played on tour, while the composed for the BBC Proms The Garden of Earthly Delights from the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich was premiered.

2000s and the House of Lords member

In addition, he created between 2000 and 2003, together with Judith Weir and Anthony Payne, the musical entertainment for the Sydney Film Festival, but also for the festival in Spitalfields. In addition, he worked as a composer for the New York Philharmusica. Berkeley is also since 2001 Member of the Board (Board of Governors ) of the Royal Ballet and served 2003-2012 as Chairman of this Board.

During his work as a composer for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales three other compositions, the second work, Concerto for Orchestra, world premiere at the Proms in 2005 had arisen. This work has been included as most of his works by Chandos Records. During his work for the National Orchestra of Wales, he also worked with Richard Hickox. His second opera Jane Eyre (2000), also with a libretto by David Malouf, Australia and the United States was in the UK listed. His third opera For You (2008) was composed for a libretto by Ian McEwan for the Music Theatre Wales and listed in the UK. This 2010 recorded for the record label work was also performed in Italy in 2010.

Then he created works such as the Oboe Quintet Into the Ravine (2012 ) for Nicholas Daniel and the Carducci String Quartet, as well as Three Rilke Sonnets (2013 ) for Claire Booth and the Nash Ensemble. He then worked on a hymn for the enthronement of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury on 21 March 2013.

By Letters Patent of March 26, 2013 Berkeley was the Commander of the Order of the British Empire was already on 16 June 2012 due to the Life peerages Act 1958 on the proposal of the House of Lords Appointments Commission as a life peer with the title Baron Berkeley of Knighton raised to the peerage, making it one since then to the House of Lords as a member. In the Upper House, he joined the group of the so-called Cross Bencher.

Most recently, he worked on some cabaret songs for Barbara Hannigan and Angela Hewitt, which premiered in July 2013 in Italy.

Publications

  • The Music Pack, 1994

Compositions

  • Meditation, 1977
  • Primavera, 1979
  • Uprising, 1980
  • Graves, 1981
  • Or Shall We Die? , 1982
  • Music from Chaucer, 1983
  • Tears', 1984
  • Pas de Deux, 1985
  • Songs of Awakening Love, 1986
  • Organ Concerto, 1987
  • The Red macula, 1989
  • Gethsemane fragment, 1990
  • Clarinet Concerto, 1991
  • Baa Baa Black Sheep, 1993
  • Viola Concerto, 1994
  • Magnetic Field, 1995
  • Winter Fragments, 1996
  • Torque and Velocity, 1997
  • Secret Garden, 1997
  • The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1998
  • Tranquillien, 2003
  • Jane Eyre, 2000
  • Concerto for Orchestra, 2005
  • For You, 2008
  • Showdown, 2008
  • Gabriel 's Lament, 2009
Singing Expressionist music Nobility Integrated Authority File
567888
de