Christopher Fox

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

Fox studied at the Universities of Liverpool , Southampton and York ; his teachers included Hugh Wood and Jonathan Harvey . In 1984 he received his doctorate in composition from the University of York . 1984–94 he taught composition at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt . In 1987 he lived in West Berlin as part of the DAAD's artist program. In 1994 he followed an appointment as a composition professor at the Music Department at Huddersfield University . Since 2006 he has been a professor at the Brunel University Music Faculty in London. His music is performed, produced and broadcast internationally. Fox is also a frequent text writer on musical subjects. In addition to works for the concert hall, Fox also works with visual artists and the poet Ian Duhig .

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

His works include complex, microtonal chamber music, larger ensemble pieces , tape collages , minimalist pieces for guitars and saxophones as well as solo pieces for various classical instruments. Like Tippett before , he combines a love for the United States and for the modern in general with roots in the strict thinking of European modernism. This is reflected in his association with composers, whom he also writes about, such as Richard Barrett (record text for 'Vanity' and published reviews), Michael Finnissy and James Clarke (record text for a chamber music CD on NMC Records), literary Collaboration, programmatic considerations and longstanding professional relationships with performers such as Apartment House (2004 “ZONE”, Zeit-Ort-Name and 1989 “Skin”), the Ives Ensemble (2001 “Everything You Need To Know” with variable playing times from 10 to 88 minutes), the Orkest De Volharding (since 2004 work on “Class Action”, an 80-minute work) and Ian Pace (CD of his piano music).

Fox's musical writings have been published widely, including in the magazines Contact (of which he was editor), Contemporary Music Review , Musical Times and Tempo . You are primarily concerned with new music , especially experimental, minimalist and complex currents of American and European music. He was co-editor of Von Kranichstein zur Gegenwart (1996, DACO Verlag, Stuttgart) for the 50th anniversary of the Darmstadt Summer Course , as well as Uncommon Ground: The Music of Michael Finnissy (1998, Ashgate Press, Aldershot).

Works (selection)

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