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HARVEY Jonathan


Born in 1939 in Warwickshire (England), Jonathan Harvey studies music at St. John's College in Cambridge. After having obtained doctorates at the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge, he hones his talent in the art of composition under the supervision of two students of Schoenberg, Erwin Stein and Hans Keller, who familiarise him with the dodecaphonic technique. His encounters with Milton Babbit at the university of Princeton, where he is a ?Harkness Fellow? from 1969 to 1970, but also those with Stockhausen prove to be decisive for his work. Sensitive to the (r)evolutions promised by new and as yet unused technologies, Harvey explores sound and electronic techniques which, as he explains, allow to transcend the limits of traditional audio sources and to thereby to gain access to a higher spiritual dimension. He also nourishes himself with the additions of the spectral current, which he considers to be determining for the evolution of contemporary music. Following an invitation from Pierre Boulez, Jonathan Harvey works at Ircam beginning in the early 1980ies. He will create close to eight compositions for the institute - among them are Mortuos Plango, Vivis Voco (for band) and Bhakti (for ensemble and electronic), destined to the "Ensemble Intercontemporain". His work covers all genres and formations, from a capella choir to big orchestra over chamber orchestra, instrumental ensemble or soloist instrument. Some of his works were born out of requests that have come in from all over the world, like Speakings in 2008 (Scottish Symphonic Orchestra of the BBC, Ircam and Radio France) and two of his operas: Inquest of Love (English National Opera), composed under the direction of Mark Elder in 1993, and Wagner Dream in 2007 (De Nederlandse Opera, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Holland Festival and Ircam). The Modern ensemble, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Asko ensemble, the Nieuw Ensemble and the Ictus ensemble are among the chief interpreters of Harvey's music. His work is frequently heard in musical centres and festivals like Ars Musica (Brussels), Musica Nova (Helsinki), Musica (Strasbourg) or the "Acanthes" and "Agora" festivals of the Ircam. A total of eighty recordings are available on CD. Jonathan Harvey has been honoured with many prices, including the "Prix Britten de Composition" (1993), the "Prix Giga-Hertz" (2007) and the "Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco" for Speakings. He taught music in England (University of Sussex, 1977-1993) and in the United States (University of Stanford, 1995 - 2000) and has written two books, one on inspiration and the other on spirituality, in 1999. The composer is now Doctor Honoris Causa of the universities of Southampton, Sussex, Bristol and Huddersfield, and he is member of the European Academy. His work has been studied in whole or in part by Arnold Whittall (Faber & Faber, 1999) and John Palmer (Jonathan Harvey's Bhakti, edited by Edwin Mellen Press, 2001) and celebrated from the spring of 2009 until that of 2010 in the entire world, in concert and on CD.


Discography on Cypres


Jonathan Harvey | Wagner Dream (COLLECTOR) (Ref.: CYP5624)
Inspired by the last moments of Richard Wagner?s life and his interrupted opera project Die Sieger, which in turn is inspired by the buddhist legend of Prakriti and Ananda, Wagner Dream, an opera composed by Jonathan Harvey, seems to multiply and illuminate the veils of illusion.
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Jonathan Harvey | Wheel of Emptiness | Ictus (Ref.: CYP5604)
ICTUS ENSEMBLE - Georges-Elie Octors conductor (CD - 2001)
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