John Kinsella (composer)

John Kinsella (born April 8, 1932 in Dublin ) is an Irish composer .

life and work

John Kinsella studied violin from 1948 , then viola from 1953 to 1957 at Dublin College of Music. After working as a programmer , he worked for the Irish broadcasting company RTÉ from 1968 and in 1983 took over the management of the music department. He resigned from this position in 1988 in order to be able to devote himself entirely to composition. Kinsella has also served as a musical advisor to the Irish government and on the governing body of the National Concert Hall, Dublin.

John Kinsella is a self-taught composer . In 1969 he took part in the Dublin Festival of 20th Century Music. In 1982 he became a member of the Aosdána . In 1979 Kinsella won the Marten Toonder Award, one of Ireland's most prestigious composition prizes. In terms of composition, he initially oriented himself towards serialism , but around 1980 turned away from avant-garde currents in favor of a more accessible tonal language. Since 1984 he has composed 11 symphonies (the 10th was premiered in 2012, the 11th followed in 2019), and he also composed other instrumental music, including five string quartets and two violin concertos. In 1973 “A Selected Life” was written for tenor, speaker, choir and orchestra based on texts by his brother Thomas Kinsella . Several of Kinsella's works have been recorded on phonograms, for example on the Chandos and Naxos labels .

literature

• Axel Klein :  Kinsella, John. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).

Web links

• JoCMhn Kinsella, Contemporary Music Center Ireland (engl.)