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'''John Arthur Casken''' (born 15 July 1949) is an English [[composer]].
'''John Arthur Casken''' (born 15 July 1949) is an English [[composer]].


Casken was born in [[Barnsley]], South Yorkshire. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which had a lasting influence.<ref name=wroe>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/dec/28/classicalmusicandopera Wroe, Nicholas. 'The indefinables', in ''The Guardian'', 28 December 2004]</ref>
Casken was born in [[Barnsley]], South Yorkshire. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which had a lasting influence.<ref name=wroe>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/dec/28/classicalmusicandopera Wroe, Nicholas. 'The indefinables', in ''The Guardian'', 28 December 2004]</ref>
He studied composition at the [[University of Birmingham]] with [[John Joubert (composer)|John Joubert]] and [[Peter Dickinson (musician)|Peter Dickinson]].<ref name=shott>[https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/john-casken Biography at Schott Music]</ref> He attended the Warsaw Academy of Music between 1971 and 1972, where he studied with [[Andrzej Dobrowolski]] but also met and became friends with [[Witold Lutosławski]].<ref name=MT>Whittall, Arnold. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25597659?seq=1 'Elegies and affirmations: John Casken at 60'], in ''Musical Times'' No 1909, Winter 2009, p 39-51</ref> He has lectured at the universities of Birmingham (from 1973) and Durham (from 1981), and between 1992 and 2008 he was Professor of Music at the [[University of Manchester]].<ref name=nmc>[https://www.nmcrec.co.uk/composer/casken-john Biography at NMC Recordings]</ref> Casken's students include [[Michael Alcorn]], [[David Jennings (composer)|David Jennings]] and [[James MacMillan]].
He studied composition at the [[University of Birmingham]] with [[John Joubert (composer)|John Joubert]] and [[Peter Dickinson (musician)|Peter Dickinson]].<ref name=shott>[https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/john-casken Biography at Schott Music]</ref> He attended the Warsaw Academy of Music between 1971 and 1972, where he studied with [[Andrzej Dobrowolski]] but also met and became friends with [[Witold Lutosławski]].<ref name=MT>Whittall, Arnold. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25597659?seq=1 'Elegies and affirmations: John Casken at 60'], in ''Musical Times'' No 1909, Winter 2009, p 39-51</ref> He has lectured at the universities of Birmingham (from 1973) and Durham (from 1981), and between 1992 and 2008 he was Professor of Music at the [[University of Manchester]].<ref name=nmc>[https://www.nmcrec.co.uk/composer/casken-john Biography at NMC Recordings]</ref> Casken's students include [[Michael Alcorn]], [[David Jennings (composer)|David Jennings]] and [[James MacMillan]].{{fact}}


Casken lives in Northumberland. He has acknowledged the landscape as a significant influence on his work. Works such as the orchestral ''Orion Over Farne'' (1984), the unaccompanied choral work ''To Fields We Do Not Know'' (1985), (described as "a Northumbrian elegy"), the orchestral song-cycle ''Still Mine'' (1992), the ensemble piece ''Winter Reels'' (2010) and the choral ''Uncertain Sea'' (2014) have all drawn inspiration from Northumberland. <ref name=nmc/> Casken has also composed two operas: [[Golem (Casken opera)|''Golem'']] (1988) which has been revived frequently <ref name=wroe/>, and ''God's Liar'' (2000), the latter based on [[Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]]'s novella [[Father Sergius|''Father Sergius'']]. The Piano Trio of 2003 uses themes from the opera as its source material.<ref>[https://www.propermusic.com/pfcd115_john_casken_stolen_airs.html Review of Prima Facie CD ''Stolen Airs'' (PFCD115) at Proper Music]</ref>
Casken lives in Northumberland. He has acknowledged the landscape as a significant influence on his work. Works such as the orchestral ''Orion Over Farne'' (1984), the unaccompanied choral work ''To Fields We Do Not Know'' (1985), (described as "a Northumbrian elegy"), the orchestral song-cycle ''Still Mine'' (1992), the ensemble piece ''Winter Reels'' (2010) and the choral ''Uncertain Sea'' (2014) have all drawn inspiration from Northumberland. <ref name=nmc/> Casken has also composed two operas: [[Golem (Casken opera)|''Golem'']] (1988) which has been revived frequently <ref name=wroe/>, and ''God's Liar'' (2000), the latter based on [[Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]]'s novella [[Father Sergius|''Father Sergius'']]. The Piano Trio of 2003 uses themes from the opera as its source material.<ref>[https://www.propermusic.com/pfcd115_john_casken_stolen_airs.html Review of Prima Facie CD ''Stolen Airs'' (PFCD115) at Proper Music]</ref>

Revision as of 13:10, 22 May 2020

John Arthur Casken (born 15 July 1949) is an English composer.

Casken was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which had a lasting influence.[1] He studied composition at the University of Birmingham with John Joubert and Peter Dickinson.[2] He attended the Warsaw Academy of Music between 1971 and 1972, where he studied with Andrzej Dobrowolski but also met and became friends with Witold Lutosławski.[3] He has lectured at the universities of Birmingham (from 1973) and Durham (from 1981), and between 1992 and 2008 he was Professor of Music at the University of Manchester.[4] Casken's students include Michael Alcorn, David Jennings and James MacMillan.[citation needed]

Casken lives in Northumberland. He has acknowledged the landscape as a significant influence on his work. Works such as the orchestral Orion Over Farne (1984), the unaccompanied choral work To Fields We Do Not Know (1985), (described as "a Northumbrian elegy"), the orchestral song-cycle Still Mine (1992), the ensemble piece Winter Reels (2010) and the choral Uncertain Sea (2014) have all drawn inspiration from Northumberland. [4] Casken has also composed two operas: Golem (1988) which has been revived frequently [1], and God's Liar (2000), the latter based on Tolstoy's novella Father Sergius. The Piano Trio of 2003 uses themes from the opera as its source material.[5]

His Cello Concerto of 1991 was written for Heinrich Schiff. The Violin Concerto was premiered at the 1995 Proms with Dmitri Sitkovetsky as soloist [2] and the Oboe Concerto Apollinaire’s Bird (written for Stéphane Rancourt) was premiered by the Hallé Orchestra in 2014. There is also the Symphony Broken Consort (2004), performed at the 2004 Proms, and a Concerto for Orchestra (2007).[6] Casken has written much chamber music, including three string quartets, the first in 1982.[3] He wrote Rest-ringing, unusually scored for string quartet and orchestra, for the Lindsay Quartet in 2005.[1]

Recent work has shown a renewal of interest in musical theatre, with the melodrama Deadly Pleasures for narrator and small ensemble, based a poem by D M Thomas concerning the life of Cleopatra, and a monodrama, Kokoschka’s Doll, premiered at the Cheltenham Festival in 2017, about Alma Mahler's relationship with the painter Oskar Kokoschka. A CD of Kokoschka’s Doll was released in 2020.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wroe, Nicholas. 'The indefinables', in The Guardian, 28 December 2004
  2. ^ a b Biography at Schott Music
  3. ^ a b Whittall, Arnold. 'Elegies and affirmations: John Casken at 60', in Musical Times No 1909, Winter 2009, p 39-51
  4. ^ a b Biography at NMC Recordings
  5. ^ Review of Prima Facie CD Stolen Airs (PFCD115) at Proper Music
  6. ^ Catalogue of works at composer's website
  7. ^ Kokoschka’s Doll Champs Hill, CHRCD150 (2020)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Casken&oldid=958202842"