James Clarke (born 15 October 1957) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

composer sometimes associated with the

New Complexity New Complexity is a label principally applied to composers seeking a "complex, multi-layered interplay of evolutionary processes occurring simultaneously within every dimension of the musical material". Origins Though often atonal, highly abstrac ...

school.

Background

Clarke was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 15 October 1957.

Education

According to fellow

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 the ...

'', "After studying at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

and

City University, London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

larke Larke is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Alex Larke (born 1979), British singer * Glenda Larke, Australian writer *Joan Larke (c.1490–1532), English mistress * John Larke (c.1500–1544), English priest *John Short Larke (1840 ...

was awarded a Finnish Government Scholarship to study composition with Usko Meriläinen in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

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

'', n.d., as qtd. in James Clarke
"Biography"
, ''jamesclarke.org'', 2007, accessed 10 May 2008.

Career

In 1979, with his colleague

Richard Emsley Richard Emsley (born December 1951 in Goole, Yorkshire) is a British composer, sometimes associated with the New Complexity school. Emsley initially studied with Arnold Whittall at University College, Cardiff, after which he moved to London, wher ...

, Clarke co-founded the

new music New music may refer to: Musical styles and movements Pre-20th century * Ars nova, musical style in 14th-century France and the Low Countries * ''Le nuove musiche'', collection of monody by Giulio Caccini * New German School, music style in late 1 ...

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; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...

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 r ...

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 a group of islands in the 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 and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

, 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 (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

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

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, at the

Moscow Conservatoire The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

and Sweden, 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 town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. Biggest lakes are Lake Keite ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, where he was featured composer in 2000, and at the Festival junger Künstler Bayreuth." He was also "a featured composer at the 2004 Ars Musica festival in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Works

;"Over ninety 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. T ...

, commissioned jointly by the Huddersfield Festival and Ars Musica,

*"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 ...

, commissioned by Southwest German Radio for the

Donaueschinger Musiktage The Donaueschingen Festival (german: Donaueschinger Musiktage, links=no) is a festival for new music that takes place every October in the small town of Donaueschingen in south-western Germany. Founded in 1921, it is considered the oldest festiva ...

; *"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'' (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 Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

," 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, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

, 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 publishe ...

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

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

* Beethovenfest *

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, particula ...

* Dresdner Zentrum für zeitgenössische Musik * Musik i Skåne *

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

;Portrait concerts given by: * MusikFabrik NRW *

Apartment House An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...

Ensemble SurPlus Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''Ensem ...

* 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 en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in early 2007; *"Untitled No.3" for solo piano, written for

Nicolas Hodges Nicolas Hodges (born 1970, in London) is a pianist living in Germany. Early years Nicolas Hodges was born into a musical family. His mother sang in the BBC Singers, including under Boulez in works by Nono. His father was a keen amateur musician, ...

and premiered at the Huddersfield Festival in 2006; *"Untitled No.4" for the

Hilliard Ensemble The 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. Althoug ...

and the

, commissioned by the Beethovenfest Bonn, in 2007; *"2006-K" for 21 instruments, also written for

and premiered at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

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

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, 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 the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She b ...

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, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

) 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 Holst Found ...

(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'' 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. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' 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 website.

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 classical composers 21st-century classical composers English classical composers Living people English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians