James Clarke (born in October 1957) (https://jamesclarke.home.blog) is an English composer sometimes associated with the New Complexity school. According to fellow English composer and music scholar Christopher Fox, in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', "After studying at

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and

City University, London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

, larkewas awarded a Finnish Government Scholarship to study composition with

Usko Meriläinen Usko Aatos Meriläinen (27 January 1930 – 12 November 2004) was a Finnish composer. He was born in Tampere. Usko Meriläinen studied orchestral conducting with Leo Funtek and composition with Aarre Merikanto at the Sibelius Academy. Meriläine ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

." Christopher Fox, "James Clarke", ''

'', n.d., as qtd. in James Clarke
"Biography"
, ''jamesclarke.org'', 2007, accessed 10 May 2008. In 1979, with his colleague Richard Emsley, Clarke co-founded the new music ensemble, Suoraan, "a small band of outstanding specialist performers" based in London "which dedicatedly promoted the music of, centrally,

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...

but also younger British and European composers such as

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often reg ...

and James Dillon."Richard Emsley
official website, accessed 10 May 2008. Yet, as Christopher Fox points out, "for much of his career larke'swork has attracted most attention beyond the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, including significant performances at the International Gaudeamus Music Week and the

ISCM The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

World Music Days." Fox relates further: According to his official biography, Clarke has been "a visiting professor at universities in various countries, including

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, where he was appointed an honorary Professor of Music at the Baku Music Academy;

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, at the

Moscow Conservatoire The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, at the University of Malmö."James Clarke
"Biography"
''jamesclarke.org'', 2007, accessed 10 May 2008. In addition, he "has led composition courses at the Time of Music Festival in

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a Finnish town and municipality located in the Central Finland region. It is located between the neighbouring municipalities of Pihtipudas to the north and Äänekoski to the south. The town has a population of () and covers an are ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where he was featured composer in 2000, and at the Festival junger Künstler

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

." He was also "a featured composer at the 2004

Ars Musica Founded in 1989, Ars Musica is an annual contemporary music international festival that takes place in Brussels during several weeks, usually in March. Nowadays, Ars musica is one of the biggest world festival for contemporary music. Famous comp ...

festival in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where ten works were performed in the largest survey of Clarke’s music to date

007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

Works

;"Over one hundred works for symphony orchestra, ensembles, voices or solo musicians", including: *"String Quartet" (2003), written for the

Arditti Quartet The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. They ...

, commissioned jointly by the Huddersfield Festival and

*"Final Dance" (2003), written for

Klangforum Wien The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music. Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no o ...

, commissioned by Southwest German Radio for the

Donaueschinger Musiktage The Donaueschingen Festival, or more precisely ''Donaueschingen Music Days'' (), is a three-day October event presenting new music in the town of the same name, where the Danube River starts, at the edge of the Black Forest in southern Germany. F ...

; *"Landschaft mit Glockenturm II" (2003), for seventeen European and Chinese instruments, commissioned by the Viennese organisation Asian Culture Link.James Clarke
"Worklist"
''jamesclarke.org'', 2007, accessed 10 May 2008. ;Collaboration with Harold Pinter commissioned by the BBC: *''

Voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (1 ...

'' (2005), "a large-scale work for nine actors, solo musicians and orchestra, with a text specially written by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

," first broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, in honor of Pinter's 75th birthday, on 10 October 2005.Alice Jones
"Voices: Text: Harold Pinter; Music: James Clarke"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 7 October 2005, rpt. in ''jamesclarke.org'', accessed 10 May 2008."World Premiere of Pinter's Dramatic Work on BBC Radio 3"
''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' press release, 13 September 2005, accessed 10 May 2008. ;Other commissions from, among others: *

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

Beethovenfest The Beethovenfest ('Beethoven Festival') is a festival of classical music in Bonn, Germany, dedicated mostly to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born there. It dates back to 1845, when the composer's 75th anniversary of birth was celebra ...

Gaudeamus Foundation The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on supporting the career development of young composers and musicians, particular ...

* Dresdner Zentrum für zeitgenössische Musik * Musik i Skåne *

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

;Portrait concerts given by: * MusikFabrik NRW *

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* Ensemble SurPlus * Prometheus Ensemble"Performer Profiles: Anton Lukoszevieze"
''kalvos.org'', n.d., accessed 10 May 2008. (Lukoszevieze is cellist for the ensemble MusikFabrik NRW and the founder of

.) ;Recent works, all untitled, including: *"Untitled No.1", a work for eighteen instruments written for

and premiered in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in early 2007; *"Untitled No.3" for solo piano, written for Nicolas Hodges and premiered at the Huddersfield Festival in 2006; *"Untitled No.4" for the

Hilliard Ensemble Hilliard Ensemble was a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. The group was named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard. Founded in 1974, the group disbanded in 2014. Although ...

and the

, commissioned by the

Bonn, in 2007; *"2006-K" for 21 instruments, also written for

and premiered at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

in 2006; *"2007-R" for two percussionists, premiered at the Transit Festival in

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Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, in 2007.James Clarke
"Recent and Current Performances"
''jamesclarke.org'', 2007, accessed 10 May 2008.

Recordings

*''James Clarke'' ( CD) from Zeitklang.
James Clarke
'', catalog listing at ''Classics Online'' (downloadable audio site), accessed 10 May 2008. CAL-13018 (Composers' Art Label): "Kammersymphonie / Island / Oboe Quintet / La violenza delle idee."

Cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononyomusly as Asin, is an Indian former actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu films. Asin is a recipient of List of awards and nominations ...

B000FWHXZ8. *''Trio Fibonacci – Independence Quadrilles'' ( CD and downloadable

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

) from

NMC Recordings NMC Recordings is a British recording label and a charity which specialises in recording works by living composers from the British Isles. History The composer Colin Matthews founded NMC in 1989, with financial assistance from the Gustav Hols ...

(UK). NMC D107.
Independence Quadrilles
', ''

'', ''nmc.greedbag.com'', catalog listing NMC D107,

audio samples (previews), accessed 10 May 2008.

Critical reception

Describing his "String Quartet" commissioned for the

, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' states: "James Clarke's 'String Quartet' was obsessive chiefly in its manner, which was that of someone determined to break through to a new sound, a new feeling, a new zone in the psyche. The piece seethed and glittered, bursting from silence with pungent tutti respirations, arraying its speedy surface melodies (whether heard as tune, ornament or symptom) like broken glass. It was rock music by other means...."Quotation featured on the home page of ''jamesclarke.org'', accessed 10 May 2008. Concerning the same work, ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'' observes: "The music pulsed with fabulous rhythmic and tonal effects that the Ardittis shaped into palpable 3-D soundscapes. Clarke's mastery of dissonance and overtone, aided by the Ardittis' playing, created sound waves that are not usually heard in a quartet program."

Awards

*1992 – Kranichsteiner Musikpreis for composition at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik.

Notes

External links

at ''

'', ''nmcrec.co.uk''. (Drawn mostly from other sites listed below.)
James Clarke
– Official websit
"James Clarke: Biography"
on ''jamesclarke.org'', Clarke's official website. (Includes substantial excerpt from entry on Clarke by Christopher Fox in ''

'', as cited above in text.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, James 1957 births 20th-century English classical composers 21st-century English classical composers Living people Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the University of Southampton English male classical composers 20th-century English male musicians 21st-century English male musicians