Huw Watkins

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Huw Watkins (born July 13, 1976 ) is a British composer and pianist . Born in South Wales, he studied piano and composition at the Chetham School of Music in Manchester , where he took piano lessons from Peter Lawson. He then studied music at King's College , Cambridge, where he took composition lessons from Robin Holloway and Alexander Goehr . He received his Master of Music in composition from the Royal College of Music , where he studied with Julian Anderson. Huw Watkins was awarded the Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music, where he teaches composition. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music.

Career

In 1999 the Nash Ensemble premiered the Faber Music commissioned Sonata for Cello and Eight Instruments by Watkins. A Times review commented, "At 22, Huw Watkins is already a composer to be reckoned with". The work has since been performed by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in London , Paris , Copenhagen and Aldeburgh under the direction of Sakari Oramo and Peter Rundel .

In 2000, Watkins Sinfonietta was premiered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the direction of Grant Llewellyn . One result of the collaboration was the commission for a piano concerto. This was premiered in May 2002 with Watkins on piano under Martyn Brabbins .

His works include a nocturne for solo horn and chamber orchestra, which was first performed and recorded in March 2002 by David Jolley and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under Mischa Santora . He recorded his cello sonata with his brother Paul Watkins for Nimbus Records on a CD of 20th century British cello music. String Quartet No. 3, written for the Belcea Quartet , premiered in 2004 at London's Wigmore Hall.

One of the more recent works is the London Concerto, which was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2005 to mark its 100th anniversary. Also a rondo for the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; a commission for the 40th anniversary of the Nash Ensemble and a double concerto for viola, cello and orchestra, which premiered at the BBC Proms in 2005 . His composition Dream was published by the Britten Sinfonia on their own label on the album Songs of the Sky . In 2014 the On the Hand - Concerto for wind orchestra and 2 jazz trumpets for the National Youth Brass Band of Wales, commissioned by Ty Cerdd, had its world premiere.

Applause for Huw Watkins Trio for violin, horn and piano at the Tension Festival 2011. Performed by Marie-Luise Neunecker , Huw Watkins and Alina Ibragimova

Chamber music has always played a central role for Watkins: In 2001 his String Quartet No. 2 was premiered by the Petersen Quartet at the Cheltenham Festival . The Brahms Ensemble Hamburg premiered its variations on a Schubert song at the Gstaad Festival . Together with Lawrence Power he first performed his Fantasy for Viola and Piano in 2006. His String Quartet No. 3 wrote for the Belcea Quartet, which premiered in February 2004 at Wigmore Hall . The Nash Ensemble first performed its commissioned concert at the same location in 2005. Alina Ibragimova took on the world premiere of his partita for solo violin. This program was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the 2006 midday concert series.

Song compositions are also in his interest. Watkins “Set” for tenor and string quartet from Dylan Thomas ' In My Craft or Sullen Art premiered in May 2007 by Mark Padmore and the Petersen Quartet at Wigmore Hall. The three Auden songs by Watkins were commissioned by Mark Padmore. The Five Larkin Songs (2010), which were premiered by Carolyn Sampson, received the British Composer Award 2011 in the "Vocal Works" category.

In 2011 he was composer in residence at the chamber music festival Spannungen in Heimbach .

Huw Watkins is a regular pianist on BBC Radio 3, both as a soloist and with artists such as Alina Ibragimova, Daniel Hope , Nicholas Daniel and Alexandra Wood. He has premiered works by Alexander Goehr, Peter Maxwell Davies and Mark-Anthony Turnage . As a soloist he has performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Swan as well as the Britten Sinfonia. For EMI Classics he took the song cycle The Lover in Winter of Thomas Adès with the countertenor Robin Blaze, and his recording of contemporary British music for violin and piano with Alexandra Wood was published at Usk of 2005. For Wergo he recorded the piano cycle Symmetry Disorders Reach by Alexander Goehr. Watkins Violin Concerto premiered on August 17, 2010 at the Proms by Alina Ibragimova, for whom it was written.

Selected Works

Works for orchestra and large ensemble

  • Sinfonietta for orchestra (2000)
  • Nocturne for horn and chamber orchestra (2001)
  • Piano Concerto (2002)
  • Double Concerto for Viola, Cello and Orchestra (2005)
  • London Concerto for violin, bassoon, harp and orchestra (2005)
  • Rondo for chamber ensemble (2005)
  • Hymn for orchestra (2005)
  • Broken Consort for Ensemble (2008)
  • Crime Fiction a chamber opera in one act (2008)
  • Violin Concerto (2010)

Chamber music, works for small ensembles and solo works

  • Coruscation and Reflection for violin and piano (1998)
  • Sonata for cello and eight instruments (1999)
  • Sonata for cello and piano (2000)
  • Two chorales for clarinet and piano (2000)
  • Four Spencer Pieces for piano (2001)
  • String Quartet No. 2 (2001)
  • Romance for violin and piano (2003)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (2004)
  • Gig for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet (2005)
  • Pièce d'orgue for solo organ (2005)
  • Dream for clarinet , violin and piano (2006)
  • Fanfares for soprano saxophone and piano (2006)
  • Partita for solo violin (2006)
  • Fantasy for viola and piano (2006)
  • Suite for harp (2006)
  • In My Craft or Sullen Art for tenor and string quartet (2007)
  • Prelude for Solo Cello (2007)
  • Sad Steps for piano and string sextet (2008)
  • Miniatures for viola and piano (2009)
  • Three Welsh Songs for Strings (2008–2009)
  • Three Auden songs for tenor and piano (2009)
  • Trio for horn, violin and piano (2008)
  • Speak Seven Seas for clarinet, viola and piano (2011)
  • String Quartet (2013)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Allmusic Guide .
  2. ^ NMC profile
  3. ^ Staff - Huw Watkins. In: ram.ac.uk. Royal Academy of Music, accessed May 20, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Charlotte Smith: British Composer Awards winners announced. In: gramophone.co.uk. December 1, 2011, accessed January 19, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Composer in Residence Tensions
  6. ^ Violin Concerto, Schott Music
  7. ↑ BBC 2010 Proms Composer Portraits
personal data
SURNAME Watkins, Huw
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British composer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1976