John McCabe (composer)
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John McCabe CBE (born 21 April 1939, Huyton, Merseyside) is an English composer and pianist.
Biography
A prolific composer from an early age, John McCabe had written thirteen symphonies by the time he was eleven. After studies in Manchester and Munich he embarked upon a career as a composer and virtuoso pianist (he still tours internationally as a recitalist). He has worked in almost every genre, though large-scale forms lie at the heart of his catalogue with five symphonies, fifteen concertante works and eight ballet scores to his name. Like many composers of his generation, McCabe experimented with serialism in his early career but his mature style is characterised by a dramatic post-tonalism, and vivid orchestrations.
He first became known as a pianist, playing Bax, Corigliano, Haydn, Hindemith, Rawsthorne, and Webern.
As a composer, he first gained attention with the orchestral song cycle Notturni ed Alba (1970). He has written five acknowledged symphonies (1965-2000), a number of ballets, string quartets, and solo instrumental music (particularly for the piano). However, it is for his concerti that he is perhaps best known. He has written four for his own instrument, the piano (1966-76), and three for one or two violins (1959, 1980, 2003) as well as one each for viola (1962), harpsichord (1968), oboe d'amore (1972), clarinet (1977), orchestra (1982), trumpet (1987) and flute (1990), and double concertos for viola and cello (1965) and clarinet and oboe (1988).
John McCabe was made CBE in 1983 for his services to music.
Career highlights
- 1974-6 - recorded the complete Piano Sonatas of Haydn (reissued later on CD) for Decca/London.
- 1983 - awarded CBE for services to music.
- 1984 - Rainforest I commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York.
- 1995 - premiere of Edward II with Stuttgart Ballet, choreographed by David Bintley.
- 2003 - Les martinets noirs commissioned by Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
- 2004 - received Distinguished Musician Award from the Incorporated Society of Musicians.
Key works
- Notturni ed Alba (1970; soprano, orchestra)
- Chagall Windows (1974; orchestra)
- Tenebrae (1993; piano)
- Edward II (1995; ballet)
- Arthur Parts 1 & 2 (1999 and 2001; ballet)
- Woman by the Sea (2001; piano, string quartet)
Selected recordings
- Edward II - Hyperion CDA 67135/6
- Six Minute Symphony; Concertante Variations of Nicholas Maw; Piano Concerto No 2; Sonata on a Motet - Dutton CDLX 7133
- Symphony ‘Of Time and the River’; Flute Concerto - Hyperion CDA67089